Mega Man Zero: Fully Charged
by Light Seeker 001
Summary: What makes a hero? Someone who stands for the people who believe in you. Someone who does what no one anticipates. Someone like me, Zero. Takes place after Episode 5.
1. Chapter 1

It was a normally quiet day in Silicone City, well, normal if you count another robot rampage. Fire Man was on the rampage, again. He was burning the support structures of a large skyscraper, ignoring all the countless screams of innocent humans and robots inside. He was about to blast a huge wall of flames into the building when a certain small robot with blue armor and a buster cannon stopped him. "Yo, hot head! Can we do this 'attack humans' thing when it's not a holiday?"

Fire Man glared at Mega Man. "You again, traitor?!"

"I'm not a traitor, Fire Man," he said, dodging the balls of flame the large red robot fired from his furnace-like hands. "I'm just protecting people in danger."

"You mean, you're a slave!" Fire Man shouted, blasting more fire balls at him. "You're just a mindless drone, perfectly obedient to human cause!" He charged at the Blue Bomber, only to have him leap over his head and blast energy shots at him.

"Yo, Chief," the small, Brooklyn accented voice in the humanoid's head said. "Don't you think there's something you're forgetting?"

"Huh, what was that Mega Mini?" Mega Man looked to the right and gasped in horror as the support structures of the skyscraper began to melt from the intense heat. "Activate Wave Man schematics!" His color changed to a darker blue and yellow and his buster cannon turned into a harpoon. The harpoon changed into a water cannon and aimed at the glowing hot metal, but before he could fire, Fire Man tackled him to the ground and pinned him down.

"No!" he shouted. "Let it melt! They all must perish! No more humans! No more traitors! Any last words, slave to humans?"

Mega Man growled at him before he sniffed the air. "Do you smell gas?"

Flame Man was aghast. "A fart joke?!" he and Mega Mini said at the same time. "Did you seriously just make a fart joke?!"

"No, not that kind gas!"

Flame Man sniffed the air too, and his optics widened. "Oh, no!" Before he had a chance to escape, Flame Man was engulfed in a ball of flame. "What are you waiting for?" a stranger said. Both robots looked up and saw another android standing before them. He looked like a teenager with blue eyes and wore armor similar to what Mega Man was wearing, only it was red and black and the helmet he wore was red with white hornlike extensions. But the most striking thing of all was his hair sticking out from under the helmet: long and blonde. "Stop that building from melting," he said to Mega Man. "And I'll take care of the walking furnace."

"Uh, negative, citizen, I have to get you to safe-" He was interrupted when the red android pulled out a sword with a laser blade. "-ty."

"I can take care of myself. Now, go!" Mega Man hesitated for a moment, then rushed over to the burning building. The red humanoid turned to Fire Man. "Now then, what am I going to do with you?"

"You think you're so tough just because you got a fancy sword?!" shouted Flame Man as he fired balls of fire at him. "I can take you on any time!"

The red android just dodged all the attacks before doing something neither he nor Mega Man anticipated: he sliced one of Fire Man's arms clean off. Shocked, Fire Man grabbed the stub of his arm and backed away slowly from his new opponent. "Why? I thought you were just like that little blue slave? You were supposed to fight for peace among robots and humans!"

"Oh, I am," the red android as he advanced toward Fire Man. "The thing is, there are some exceptions."

"What?! No, stay back!"

Before the red android could stab the cowering Robot Master, he suddenly got blasted by a jet of water. He turned around and saw Mega Man aiming his water cannon at him. "Dude, not cool!"

The red android heard stomping footsteps retreat and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw Fire Man retreating. "Oh, no, you don't!" He pulled out a gun and fired lasers at him, making him fall onto his stomach. Suddenly, the red android was tackled to the ground by Mega Man. "I said, not cool!"

"Get off me!" He punched Mega Man in the face, sending him flying into a light post. "I'm just doing what you do, Mega Man."

"No, you're not! You were about to turn that guy into scrap metal!"

The red android sheathed his sword, but he didn't holster his pistol. "I _am_ fighting for peace and unity between robots and humans. The thing is, Mega Man, there are some robots who cannot be reasoned with. And those exceptions must be eliminated."

"No. You're wrong."

The red android sighed. "It seems we're not going to agree on how co-existence should be. Very well." He aimed his pistol at Mega Man. "I cannot destroy you, but I cannot let you get in my way."

"All right, that's not going to happen! Replication Activation!" He turned back into his base form and aimed his Buster Cannon at him, waiting to download the red android's schematics...but nothing happened. "Uh, Replication Activation!" Nothing. "Mini? What's wrong?"

In the Blue Bomber's head, Mega Mini was pressing a few buttons in his circuitry. "Uh, I can't get a reading on his schematics. In fact, this guy doesn't _have_ any schematics!"

"What?! That's not possible! The only reason he could have no schematics is if he's..." A blast from the red android's pistol shot him in the chest, sending him on his back.

"Activate Flame Man schematics," Mega Man shouted, turning from blue to red and turning his buster cannon into a flamethrower. "Time to turn up the heat!"

"Bring it on, Blue Bomber."

Mega Man charged and shot fire balls at the red android, but he just dodged the attacks while shooting lasers at him with the pistol. "I couldn't help but notice something," the red android said as he dodged more fire balls. "You prefer to attack at a ranged distance rather than up close. So..." He put the gun away and charged at Mega Man, who was still shooting more fire balls at him, then he unsheathed his sword and proceeded to slash at him.

"Whoa! Gotta." He dodged a slash from the sword. "Get." And another. "Away." And another. "From." Before he could finish his sentence, he received a kick between the legs followed by a punch to the head.

"Now, for the legs," the red android said, raising his sword.

"Stop!" The red android turned to see the Good Guild, the police squadron of Silicone City surrounding him. "Please, don't hurt him!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Mega Man cannot see the bigger picture. There are some robots who cannot be reasoned with. They must be destroyed for the greater good for both humans _and_ robots. There must be exceptions."

Suddenly, Mega Man's anger intensified thanks to Fire Man's powers and he blasted a wall of fire at him. The red android let out a yell of pain as the fire scorched his right shoulder. While he patted himself off, Mega Man let out a yell of anger and pinned him to the ground. He pointed his Buster Cannon at him and growled, "You're right, there must be exceptions. Like you!"

"Chief, cool your jets," Mega Mini shouted in his head. "Fire Man's schematics are overheating your circuits, and making you act like a hot head again!"

Mega Man banged his helmet "Shut up, Mini!" SHUNK! "Ugh!" Mega Man let out a groan of pain as he felt something penetrate his body and return to his base form. He looked down to see the laser sword stabbing him through the stomach. The red android pushed him off him and got up. "It's all right," he said. "It's a nonfatal wound. You'll recover."

While Mega Man clutched his stomach, he saw a trickle of red fluid run down the side of the android's face. "Mini? Is that oil?"

Mega Mini scanned the substance and let out a gasp. "That's not oil! That's blood!"

"Blood?" He glanced up at his opponent. "You're a human?"

"Darn it," the fighter said. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice so soon."

"A human fighter?" Mega Man groaned when he heard that annoying voice. A voice belonging to a man with a handlebar mustache and goatee and wearing black armor and a cybernetic prosthetic right arm. "Well, it's about time someone got some common sense and fight the robot scourge!"

"Breaker Night," Mega Man said with annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to see another robot fight resulting in even more destruction to human property, but now I see a true protector of Silicone City." He gestured to the young man in red armor. "You, my friend, are exactly what this city needs: a human who knows what's best for us humans. And what this city needs is robots that obey humans. GAH!" He suddenly let out a yell of pain as he felt his right prosthetic get sliced off by the red fighter's laser sword. "What are you-"

"I stand by what I said," the stranger said. "There must be co-existence between humans and robots, but there must be exceptions. And when I said that, I wasn't just talking about robots." He pointed the sword at the war veteran's head and readied to slice the sword into his chest.

"ENOUGH!"

The stranger turned to see someone he was not expecting, Dr. Thomas Light. "You've caused enough damage!"

The stranger raised an eyebrow. "Damage? I'm just promoting existence between-" He didn't get to finish his sentence; Breaker Night punched him in the face and made him stagger back.

"Co-existence my butt," he shouted. "You're now guilty of multiple charges! Destruction of property, attempted murder!"

"No one will miss you," the stranger said as he charged at him, ready to stab him in the gut. Everyone gasped and looked away...but nothing happened. Everyone looked to see Dr. Light standing between Breaker Night and the stranger's laser sword. "Get out of my way, Thomas."

"No, stranger," Dr. Light said. "Violence does not beget co-existence." He turned to face Breaker Night. "Even if we disagree."

"He will just keep spouting anti-robot propaganda," countered the stranger. "In time, he will gather a following, and that following will become an army of robot-hating humans. The second Hard Times will begin."

"That will not happen."

The stranger growled and gently pushed Dr. Light aside, intending on finishing the job. However, when he saw people, robots and humans alike blocking his path, he was shocked. "What are you doing? You know what I say is true!"

"We don't care," a small robot said. "I don't like that guy, but not even I would want to terminate his life!"

"Neither do I!" shouted a small human boy.

Soon, more people began shouting their words of agreement: the stranger was wrong. He sighed and put the sword away, looking like he was about to surrender to the Good Guild...then he pulled out a small ball and dropped it on the ground, releasing a cloud of smoke into the crowd. As everyone coughed, the stranger hopped onto a street light and shouted, "By the way, my name is Zero! And as of now, you're my rival, Mega Man!" And he took off running.

"First it was robots fighting robots," Breaker Night snarled as he picked up his sliced off prosthetic. "Now, it's humans fighting robots and humans fighting humans! Don't you see now, Thomas Light? The peace you desire can never happen!"

"No, you heard him, Sergeant," the doctor countered. "He wants peace between humans and robots. It's just that his methods are...extreme."

"Pah. You'll see, Light. He was right about one thing. There will be war." And he stormed off to repair his prosthetic.

Meanwhile, Mega Man, injured, but otherwise still standing, walked over to Dr. Light. "Do you think what that guy, Zero was it, said was true?"

Dr. Light sighed. "Part of it. Sometimes there are exceptions when it comes to existence, but that doesn't mean it justifies violence. That poor boy, as much as his heart is in the right place, is just so misguided." He shut his eyes for a brief moment before turning to Mega Man. "Anyway, you should get some repairs done."

"It's okay," Mega Man said, a little too quickly. "I got my own pit crew. See ya!" And he took off running.

(!)

At the Light House, Aki Light, the alter ego of Mega Man, winced as Mega Mini repaired the hole in his stomach. "I thought robots weren't supposed to physically feel anything."

"You aren't like other robots," Suna Light, Dr. Light's daughter and Aki's human sister, said as she watched the repair jobs. "You almost died out there today."

"Don't remind me. That guy was super strong for a human. Do you think that armor might have given him a power boost?"

"Heck if I know," Mega Mini said. "I was too busy trying to keep your systems from shutting down."

"One thing is for sure, you're going to be out of commission for a while," said Suna.

"Which means there will be robots and humans that will be hurt."

(!)

When Zero returned home, he removed his helmet and let loose his long blond hair as he wiped sweat and blood off his forehead. As he put the helmet down, he walked to a kitchen where a woman with matching blonde hair and red clothing was leaning against a wall. "I saw your little stunt on TV, son."

"I didn't think you wouldn't, Mom."

"I have...mixed emotions about the situation."

"Relax, Mom. I didn't get hurt too bad."

"It's not that. What I'm feeling is pride knowing my old armor fits on you."

"Yeah, we're going to have to fix it, though. Sorry about that if that's what you're angry about."

"Oh, that's not what I'm angry about," she said in a sweet voice. Her left eye twitched. Zero felt a tad uncomfortable.

"Uh, then what are you angry about," he asked, afraid of what she might say.

"Why didn't you finish off that walking furnace and Breaker Night when you HAD THE CHANCE?!" she shouted.

"Hey, I was going to when Mega Man arrived and rallied the whole city against me!"

"Enough," his mother shouted. "I trained you to be the perfect fighter, and you held back against those people! You should have-"

"What? Hurt those people in order to get what you want?"

"No. To get what _we_ want." The woman paced around her son as she ranted, "That fool, Thomas Light, he had the right idea, but he simply did not do enough. In order for there to be perfect co-existence between humans and robots, there must be...sacrifices. And that blue bot, Mega Man, must be sacrificed."

What Zero said next stunned her. "No."

"What?"

"Mega Man, like it or not, is a symbol of the people. If I destroy him, they will lose hope. And they will turn on me. You. Us."

The woman sighed. "You have a point. Go send the armor for repairs and get some rest."

"Yes, mom."

His mother watched as he left the room.

(!)

In his lair, Breaker Night growled as he repaired his arm. "Curse that miserable red menace! First he attacks me, then makes a fool of me in front of all those people!"

"So, what?" asked Fire Man, whose repairs were already finished. "Do we go after him, boss?"

"No. I can see that 'Zero' and Mega Man's ideas of co-existence are going to result in a rivalry that will destroy the both of them." He smiled wickedly. "And when they destroy each other, I will step in to pick up the pieces."


	2. Chapter 2

It was a very, very, very hot day in Silicone City. So hot, Zero thought his mother would drain her entire bank account on the AC bill. He went to the kitchen, cup in hand when he found her lying in front of the vent wearing nothing but her underwear and bra. "Ever thought about installing a pool here?"

"Yes. So many times, son. Unfortunately, there's not enough room to put it anywhere, what with the lab and the weapons test room..."

"Or maybe we could go down to that public pool."

"Can't. It gets hotter every second. Look!" She held up a thermometer to prove her point. Sure enough, the temperature slowly began rising. "This isn't normal."

"Well, I'm getting me my fourth glass of water." Zero went to the sink and switched on the tap water, expecting a cool liquid refreshment. Instead, what he got was cup of boiling hot water! "Uh, mom? Did you remember to fix the plumbing?"

"Sure, I did. Why?"

"The sink's pouring hot water when it's set to cold. In fact, it's all the way cold!"

His mother stood up. "That's weird. I wonder if..." She went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Instead of cold water, scalding hot water came out. The same thing happened when she tried the bathroom sink. But the final straw that broke the camel's back was when she saw that even the toilet water was bubbling and red! "Even the toilet's boiling hot!"

"This is not normal," Zero said, dumping his hot water down the drain.

"Indeed. Let's see..." She checked her scanners. "Thought so. The water supply in the entire city has gone up to a thousand degrees! If this keeps up, the whole city will boil."

"Why does that sound familiar," Zero murmured.

"It's Fire Man, I know it," his mother said. "I told you you should have finished him."

"And I will. Just tell me where he is."

"Well," she said, looking at the scanner. "The water plant's been having an unusual rise in temperature. Think you can handle it?"

"Of course, mom." He activated a button on his chest and instantly, the red armor appeared on his body.

"Oh, and one thing," she added. "If you encounter Mega Man there, do not hesitate."

"I won't."

"Good."

(!)

When Zero arrived at the water plant, he saw someone had already beat him to it. Make that two someones. A girl with dark skin and black hair whom he recognized as Dr. Light's daughter and a boy with wild red hair and...wearing spandex bike shorts? "Looks like I got me an audience," Zero joked.

"You!" the boy exclaimed. "Stay away from here, Zero!"

"Yeah," the girl said, blocking Zero's way. "Mega Man's got this under control. We don't need your help."

"And what makes you think you can stop me," Zero said, pushing the girl out of the way.

"Because I got this!" The boy held up a drone.

"My Suna Copter Drone?" asked the girl. Zero guessed her name was Suna. "Heat proofed? How did you do that?" The boy gestured to what remained of some kind of bike. "Your bike? Bert Wiley, you are a genius!"

Wiley blushed. "Ah, we all do our part. Heroes in our own way." Suddenly, he realized something. "Hey, where's Zero?"

Suna looked around. "Oh, no! He's in the water plant!"

(!)

As Zero silently walked around the main cooling facility of the water plant, he realized for the first time he was sweating profusely. "Mom," he said in his intercom. "Is my armor upgraded with the self-cooling feature?"

"Affirmative. Just press the button on your arm."

"Okay." He did so and almost immediately, he felt a lot more cooler. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of fighting coming from nearby. It didn't take long for him to find Fire Man fighting Mega Man. "Ahem," he coughed, catching their attention.

"Oh, no, not you," exclaimed Mega Man. Unfortunately for him, this distracted him long enough for him to get smacked aside by the larger Robot Master.

"So," the flaming Robot Master growled. "We meet again, human. Don't think you're going to get the drop on me again! I've had some major modifications to myself since our last encounter!"

Zero chuckled as he readied his Z Saber. "And what makes you think I won't slice you to pieces again?"

"Because I am enflamed! I am enlightened! You humans are gnats!" He fired balls of flame at Zero, only for the renegade to dodge his attacks and hide behind a pillar. He noticed that Mega Man is with him. "So, what's the plan?"

"Plan? What plan? Let you use me as a distraction for you to slice him to pieces? No thank you!"

Zero then noticed something. "Hey, your Buster Cannon. What happened to it? Why is it overheating?"

"Blame Fire Man's schematics. It's too hot in here to use his powers now!"

"I'm gonna mindfully melt this dump," shouted Fire Man. Suddenly, a buzzing sound caught everyone's attention. Then a small drone hovered in front of him. "Aw, you lost little buddy?" Then he realized, "Wait, this is no bot! It's a human tool!" He tried swatting the drone like a fly, but it was too fast for him.

"Hey, hey," Mega Mini called out. "Big sis is distracting Fire Man with her Suna Copter!"

"Nice going, big sis," Mega Man said.

"So, Light's daughter is useful after all," Zero said.

"Hey, she's plenty helpful!"

"Well, now that she's distracting Fire Man...I'll give her backup. Stay put while you cool off." Zero, ignoring Mega Man's protests, walked out in the open and shouted, "Tell me, Fire Man. Just what do you hope to accomplish? That you're better than humans?"

"It's not just me, fleshy squirt!" Fire Man fired more balls of flame at him, only for Zero to block them with his Z Sword. "It's about proving that we robots are superior to all organics!" Zero charged at him, only for him to block the Z Sword with his flamethrower hands. "We robots are stronger!" He tried to punch Zero only to have the arm blocked. "We are smarter! We are-"

"Built that way," Zero shouted, slashing into Fire Man's chest. "We made you smarter, made you stronger! YOU OWE US EVERYTHING!"

That made Fire Man mad. "I OWE YOU **NOTHING**!" And he fired a wave of flame out of his arms. Zero ducked behind a wall and recoiled against the heat. Suddenly, his forehead started sweating. "Uh, mom? What happened to the cooling system?"

"It's malfunctioning," she said in his communicator. "It just can't handle temperatures that high! You've made him so angry, he's turning into a walking volcano!"

"And at this rate, we will be cooked alive!" Something dripped next to his foot. To his horror, it was the ceiling! "Mom! The ceiling's melting! _We're_ melting!"

"Forget the mission then, just get out of there!"

"No! If he's not cooled down, the whole city will boil! Come on, Mega Man!"

His prayers were answered. "Activate Wave Man schematics!" A jet of ice cold water soaked Fire Man. "Is this...water? Oh! I hate water! Gotta go to my happy place!" The flaming Robot Master took off running.

"Relax," Mega Man called out. "I hear getting blasted by hydro-powered water cannons is refreshing." He approached Zero and gave him a good hose down. "You looked like you could cool yourself."

"Thanks. I think I just sweated out about ten percent of my bodily fluids."

"Good. Now, go on out of here. Me and Suna will take care of the rest."

"Sorry, no."

Mega Man got mad. "I'm not going to let you hurt him!"

Zero snapped, "Or what? You'll just let him walk out of prison so he can do it again?"

"And there it is," Flame Man shouted, blasting another wall of fire at the two. "Another human weakness. Always running on emotion and instinct while we run on logic and reason! You're on the wrong side, Mega Man! Robots are hot, humans are yesteryear!" The Suna Copter bonked him on the head, distracting him long enough for Mega Man to say, "Nah, things are a lot cooler from where I'm standing. Proof!" before blasting him with a jet of water all the way outside the water plant.

Fire Man groaned as he got up. "Oh, I shouldn't have skipped hot robo-yoga this week."

"Ahem." Fire Man looked up to see Zero carrying a huge tank. "What is that?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing much," Zero said. "Just a tankful of liquid nitrogen that will freeze you solid in seconds." Flame Man's eyes widened and he took off running. He didn't get far; Zero smashed the tank over his head, freezing him solid. "And now, the finishing blow." And he stabbed Fire Man through the chest.

"NO!" shouted Mega Man, who arrived too late to stop him. "What did you do?!"

"Wait for it..."

CRACK! The block of ice shattered, along with Fire Man's armor, leaving him a bare metal skeleton. He looked down and shrieked as he hid his "nudity". "My upgrades!" he screeched.

(!)

The Good Guild escorted the "naked" Fire Man into a paddy wagon and took him to prison shortly after that. "Guess being heat resistant wasn't so bad after all," Suna said to Mega Man and Zero.

"Yeah, I might need to work on that the next time," Zero said. "I thought my armor could withstand the heat, but, like I said," he said to Mega Man. "We made you that way."

"The differences are what makes humans and robots click, Zero," Mega Man said. "I can stand the heat, but I couldn't put out Fire Man without you and Suna."

"Wow, I just witnessed greatness," Wiley said, excited. "The city's temperature is back to normal! Thanks, Mega Man!"

"And thank you, wild haired citizen," Mega Man said. "Your contribution will be legendary!"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Zero asked.

"Yes," Mega Man, Suna and Wiley said at once.

"Fair enough. I gotta get back home anyway." He took off running, leaving the three kids alone.

(!)

Zero didn't even bother saying hello when he got back home. He just stripped himself of his armor and body suit, leaving him completely in his underwear. "And just where do you think you are going?" his mother asked.

"To go into the fridge. It's the only place I can think of to cool down."

"Oh, no, you're not! You're going back to the lab with that armor and we're going to improve the cooling system!"

"Yeah, wake me up when you get to that." And he crawled into the refrigerator and slammed the door.

"Oh, that little," his mother exclaimed before sighing. Then she sniffed and plugged her nose when she smelled the foul oder of onions. It was the body suit and armor, stinky and covered in sweat. "Oh! You could have at least put them in the washing machine!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Remind me why you've dragged me here when I should be training, mom?" asked Zero as he and his mother bought tickets for the Silicone City History Museum.

"Because," she said. "They're opening a new exhibit of the Hard Times and I have to get something back from them."

"Isn't that stealing?"

"It's not stealing if it's already yours. I'm just taking it back."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Then, what will security say? Or Mega Man?"

His mother scoffed. "Mega Man couldn't harm me even if he tried. And as for security, I got a replica that will fool anyone."

"Okay..."

As the two of them walked down halls, admiring some of the exhibits, Zero accidentally bumped into a rather large fembot wearing a yellow rain coat. "Sorry, ma'am."

The fembot glared at him. "Watch it, twerp!"

"Whoa, that voice is deep!"

"You watch it," Zero's mother said. "He said he was sorry." The fembot glared at her. "Oh, trying to pick a fight, are you? I was a veteran in the Hard Times. I won't back down so easily."

"Is that so?" Zero's mother didn't like the smile on her face. "Well then, perhaps you can tell me-"

Suddenly, a high-pitched, nasally voice interrupted them. "Cool! A real veteran from the Hard Times! Perhaps she can point out the fine historical values of these relics!" The voice belonged to a blonde kid wearing suspenders and huge glasses. But the most disgusting feature? His nose seemed to be permanently runny no matter how many times he snorted the mucus back in. Zero noticed he was accompanied by Suna and Aki Light, the latter looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

"Er..." Zero's mother said, unsure about what to do. "That's right. I was one of the fighters in the Hard Times. I bet I can remember almost every artifact and weapon in this museum."

"Cool," Suna said. "Maybe she can help you with your test."

"Anything to get way from Peter Punkowski," Aki said, giving a look of disgust at the blonde boy. "That whiney-voiced, runny-nosed, know-it-all teacher's pet..."

"Hey! He was the best guy I could find to be your tutor!"

Zero's mother chuckled. "What does a boy who hasn't known war know about the Hard Times like me?"

"Oh, yeah?" Peter said. "I bet you can't tell what that is!" He pointed to a painting on the wall.

"It's just a painting of the last battle of the Hard Times. It was Dr. Thomas Light who stopped the fighting in the last minute, accompanied by a group of human ambassadors."

Peter obviously didn't like his intellectual superiority challenged. "Uh...yeah. That's right! But what can you tell about that?!" He pointed to what looked like a large, metallic funnel.

"Skeleton beam. Used to wipe out an entire human French army. Neutralizes mesons, the atomic glue holding matter together. Cut across their lines of magnetic force, and any object will simply cease to exist."

"Wow," Suna said, amazed. "They actually built those things?"

"Actually, I built it." Suna and Peter's eyes widened. "Er...it's broken beyond repair, though. Anyone with a first year degree in engineering can figure that out."

While Peter, Suna and Zero's mother talked geek talk, Zero focused his attention on a painting of blueprints for some war machine that he did not recognize, nor did he care. "You look familiar," he suddenly heard Aki say. "Have we met?" Thank goodness Zero was wearing civilian clothing and had his long hair tucked under his baseball cap.

"Uh, no. I just moved to Silicone City with my mom."

"Wait, that's your mom?" Aki looked over to the veteran woman talking to Suna and Peter. "I thought your mom was a veteran in the Hard Times?"

"She was. She moved away from Silicone City after the war. I guess something about this place brought her back here. Name's, uh...uh...Enzo."

"Aki Light. Nice to meet you. Say, I gotta catch up with Suna. Maybe we can hang out some time?"

Zero made an unsure face. "Uh...sure."

(!)

Aki caught up with Suna and Peter, the latter of whom was trying to prove his superiority over the veteran woman. "I bet you can't tell what... _that_ is!" He pointed to a large square box. "Nobody knows what its purposes are. Not even historians who lived through the Hard Times!"

"That's because it wasn't put to use," the veteran woman said. "It was created by Dr. Mabel Kalinka, a human who sided with the robots in the Hard Times."

"Wait," Aki said. "A human sided with the robots? Why?"

"Because she believed that peace between robots and humans can only be achieved if humans got to know what it was like to be a robot: abused, mistreated, having orders barked at them like they were slaves." She patted the display case's glass. "And with this, it was possible. Unfortunately, it didn't even make it past the prototype stage."

"Er, what does it do?" asked Suna.

"If Dr. Kalinka's theory was correct, this device could release a stream of nano-bots that would convert an organic's body into a technological one."

Suna and Peter gasped while Aki tilted his head, confused. "Er...what?"

"A-a-are you saying," Peter stuttered, snorting a wad of snot.

"She used this device to turn people into robots?" Suna finished.

Aki was horrified. "What?!"

"No. Like I said, it didn't even make it past the prototype stage. It's all theoretical."

Suna gave the woman a suspicious look. "How do you know this?"

"Because I was her assistant." She chuckled slightly. "And her closest friend. She was crazy. She went into hiding after the war. Never heard from her again."

"Blah, blah, blah," the fembot in the yellow coat from earlier said. "Enough history crud."

"How long have you been following us?" "Enzo" asked.

"Let's talk weapons, lady," the fembot said, almost demanding. "What would you say is the most valuable weapon in this collection?"

"'Most valuable'? Well, that would be -"

"The plasma cannon!" Peter interrupted, pointing to a display case containing a funnel-shaped pistol the size of a humming bird.

Aki was not impressed. "This? It's teeny-tiny!"

"This small cannon -" Peter said, but was interrupted when "Enzo's" mother punched him to the ground and said, "- put an end to one of the largest battles."

"It sure packed quite the punch all right," the fembot in the yellow coat said. "But then, dearie, SO DO I!" And she smashed the display case, grabbing the plasma cannon. She tore off her coat, revealing a yellow and purple armored body with a huge jet pack. "Finally! I hate disguises! Much more of a smash and grab sort of gal. So don't anybody move!"

"Enzo's" mother was not impressed. "Saw that coming."

"You!" The large fembot grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and lifted her up to eye level.

"Yes, ma'am," "Enzo's" mother asked, totally unafraid.

"My mother was called ma'am! I'm Blasto Woman! Now which of these is worth the biggest bucks?"

"Enzo's" mother rolled her eyes. "And I care because?"

"Because you wouldn't want me to want to hurt a single hair on your kid's head."

The woman just laughed. "I wouldn't worry about _my_ head."

"Huh?" A sharp pain in Blasto Woman's arm made her let go of the veteran. She turned to find Zero standing on a display case, sword in hand. She chuckled. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the robot hunter, Zero. I've been wanting to take a shot at you. You'll find I'm not as soft as the others!"

"Bring it on."

"NO!" Peter suddenly shouted. "Zero, as cool as you are, don't fight her! You'll just end up destroying these weapons!"

Zero face palmed. "You need to get your priorities straight, kid." A punch from Balsto Woman made him remember he was in a fight. Unsheathing his Z Sword, he charged at Blasto Woman, only to be shot down by a blast of energy. Standing before the two of them was Mega Man. "I was here first, Mega Man."

"Doesn't matter. Now, both of you! Step away from the weapons and drop your...uh...weapons! Okay, that sounds weird."

Zero groaned as he got back up. "Why are you being merciful with her? This isn't like Fire Man, who is a delusional robot with anger issues. She's a wanted thief! She doesn't deserve to live!"

"Hey, easy there," Blasto Woman said, trying to throw as many punches as she can at both Zero and Mega Man. "It's just an easy living. At least I've never taken lives!" She grabbed Zero by the face and smashed him into the ground. "Unlike a certain human." Suddenly, she was smacked aside by a giant hammer wielded by Zero.

"No, not the war hammer of Hundred-Hundred!" shouted Peter.

"It's junk," Zero said, trying to smash Blasto Woman with the hammer. "Never mind it!"

"It's true," Mega Man said. "It _is_ junk."

Peter was aghast. "It's so much more than that! You see weapons, I see the mistakes of the past that paved the roads to our bright present!" He wiped his nose on his arm. Thank God he had short sleeves. Or...maybe not.

Zero was disgusted. "Dude, seriously, get a tissue!"

Mega Man thought about what Peter said. "That's...wow...you're pretty smart."

"Peter Punkowski at your service! You should move now."

Mega Man blocked one of Blasto Woman's punches just in time. "Just give it up, squirt," she said. "You really want to get crushed over a bunch of old junk?" He pushed her away and said, "Peter's right, boogers and all! It's not junk! It's history!"

"As much as I hate to say it," Zero said, picking up a large cannon. "He is right. Even if he is friends with a boy with a mucus problem. How's this for a blast from the past?"

"Uh," Peter said. "That one's broken."

Zero looked at the useless cannon and tossed it aside with a red face. "Could have warned me earlier."

Blasto Woman activated her jet pack and charged at both Mega Man and Zero. "Who cares about history? Didn't you learn to respect your elders?" Zero shot her in the face with her Z Buster, making her fly back and grab her cheek in pain.

"Respect is earned," Zero said, ready to stab her in the gut. But he didn't get the chance; she grabbed him by the arm and lifted him up in the air before punching him repeatedly.

"So is money," she said. "And I'm working my tail off for it today!" She tossed Zero into Mega Man and hovered into the air. "Thanks to that nerdy human and the has-been veteran woman, I know which items will fetch the most money!"

"These weapons can be dangerous in the wrong hands," Mega Man argued, pushing Zero off of him.

"Not my problem if those hands give me cash."

Zero jumped into the air, grabbed Blasto Woman by the hair and smashed her head into a display case. "Hey! Try not to break anything before I can steal it, kid!" Blasto Woman grabbed Zero by the hair and tossed him into a painting.

Mega Man blasted her in the face with his Buster Cannon, sending her on her back. "Practice what you preach," he shouted.

"Not to intrude," Peter said. "But I'd suggest a change in tactics."

Suna called out, "Listen to him, Mega Man!"

"All right! Activate Ice Man schematics!" Mega Man's colors turned into Ice Man's and his Buster Cannon turned into Ice Man's snow gun. With a blast of the gun, he froze one of the display cases Blasto Woman was reaching for into a block of ice. "Good luck getting through that." Frustrated, Blasto Woman tried to reach for the other display cases only for Mega Man to freeze them solid too. "You know what, little M?"

"What, big M?" Mega Mini asked.

"I actually know which weapons to freeze! I actually learned something from Peter!"

"I promise to keep that between us."

"Thanks, pal."

Mega Man pointed at the large female Robot Master and fired his ice gun...but only a puff of snow came out. "Mini! I need an ice blast! Not a cool breeze!"

"Your freezer froze! Ironic and inconvenient."

"Play time is over," Blasto Woman shouted, taking out the plasma cannon and placing a battery in it.

Zero scratched his head. "It runs on batteries?"

"This relic wouldn't work without it. I did _some_ research."

"Hold it," "Enzo's" mother called out. "I happen to know the blueprints for a weapon that is so powerful, it makes the plasma cannon look like a kid's toy!"

Yen signs appeared in Blasto Woman's eyes. "Oh, do you?"

"Yes. That." She pointed to the sign to to the bathroom behind her.

"What?" asked Peter. "That's not-" Suna punched him in the shoulder. "I mean, yes! Ode to the Commode! Painted by the famous French robot...um...Bidet."

"Seriously?" "Enzo's" mother snarked.

Yet, it seemed to work. Blasto Woman took the bait and marched to the bathroom sign. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her back. She looked over her shoulder to find Zero on her back, stabbing her jet pack with the Z Sword. "Wh-what did you do?!" Zero jumped off as the jet pack malfunctioned and sent Blasto Woman flying around wildly like a balloon deflating.

"Gah!" screamed Peter. "She will destroy the exhibits if this keeps up!"

"Seriously," Suna said. "You need to get your priorities straightened out."

Mega Man's circuitry finally thawed out and he fired one carefully aimed ice blast at the out of control Robot Master thief, sending her flying into a giant robot hand. "Ow," she groaned. There was a loud creaking sound and Blasto Woman looked up just in time to see the giant hand falling over. "Oh, no!" It landed on her, pinning her down. Zero jumped onto the hand and pointed the sword at her. "Now to finish you-" ZAP! He was frozen solid.

"What is this?!" Blasto Woman shouted, trying to get up.

"A relic from the Kusomoto offensive," Mega Man said. "Totally indestructible."

"Oh," Peter said as he, Suno and "Enzo's" mother came out of hiding. "You know your stuff."

"I had a pretty good teacher once." He reached to shake Peter's hand, but changed his mind instantly when Peter sneezed repeatedly. "Enzo's" mother handed him a handkerchief.

SMASH! The four of them looked up to see the ice block was broken and Zero was gone. "Figures," Mega Man said.

(!)

Blasto Woman was arrested and taken away by the Good Guild. While Suna and Aki talked about what they learned today, "Enzo's" mother carefully slipped something into her pocket. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She turned around and saw Peter with the plasma cannon. "What are you doing with that?"

"Just putting it back in its display case. There is something that's bugging me. Blasto Woman had every opportunity to use this, but she didn't fire. Why is that?" Then he saw the problem. "Oh. This was jamming it. It must have gotten on it somehow." He flicked off a wad of mucus off the gun. "Enzo's" mother turned green in the face and took off running. Peter raised an eyebrow. "What did I say?"

(!)

When Zero got back home, he found his mother puking in the toilet. "Ugh!" she said. "I've never met such a disgusting human in all my-" She vomited again. "But," she said, wiping the traces of vomit off her lips. "It was worth it. Now that I got this back." She held up the device that could turn people into robots. Theoretically. "Did you know," she said. "That Thomas Light stole the plans for this device and modified it to have the nanites perform surgery on a microscopic level? Well, this time, I'm going to finish what I started back in the Hard-" BOOM! Ashes and smoke blew in her face. "A...a...a decoy?!"

"Looks like Dr. Light knew what he was doing," Zero said.

"But, that's not possible! Every artifact in the museum is the genuine article! The only way it couldn't have been the real thing is if..." Dr. Kalinka's eyes widened. "Is if Dr. Light placed in there in the first place!" She chuckled. "Point one goes to you, doctor."


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: I'm sorry I skipped Tripping the Light Fantastic, but I just didn't find it that interesting to adapt.**

It would have been an ordinary day for Silicone City, but the whole city was caught in powerful hurricane winds that blasted people, cars, robots and street lights off the ground and into the air. The source of the problem? A large round, yellow robot with giant fans for hands and two more fans sprouting out his back. "The winds of change are here, bottom feeders," he shouted. "No one can match my might, my abilities, my incredible genius! And now, I will show everyone-GAH!" A blast from a laser gun interrupted him.

"That you're just full of hot air?" Zero asked.

"Zero! Why, you..."

Mega Man jumped down and shouted, "That you're just full of hot air?"

"Uh, I already said that."

"Darn it, Zero!"

"Enough!" the fan Robot Master shouted. "I am Air Man! I am the greatest! I am even the greatest at being the greatest! OUCH!" Air Man got blasted again and again by Zero's Z Buster.

"What's so great about a walking wind tunnel anyway?" he asked.

"I'll show you!" Air Man flew into the air and generated storm winds so powerful, Zero thought he would be sent to the Land of Oz. He stabbed the Z Sword into the ground and held on tight. "Uh, Mega Man? A little help?"

"Replication Activation!" Mega Man started copying Air Man's schematics, much to the latter's anger. "How dare you?! You are not even fit to hold my spare screws!" Air Man blasted jets of wind at him, but he dodged every one.

"I'd rather not," Mega Man said, jumping onto Air Man's back. "But when it comes to your powers, I'm a fan!"

Suddenly, Zero hopped onto Air Man and sliced off the fans on his back and all three of them fell to the ground. Mega Man crashed into a bush, Zero landed on a car and Air Man found himself with his head buried in the pavement. Mega Man was the first to get up and notice Air Man trying to get out. Getting back up, he kicked Air Man between two Good Guild officers nearby. "That's convenient. This would be the part where I make a snappy pun, but I'm about to be late for school." And he took off running.

Zero would have killed Air Man then and there, but seeing that the Good Guild was already there, he decided to leave them to it.

(!)

A day later, in the late morning, Zero was still sleeping in his chamber when he heard his mother knock on the door to his bedroom.

"Zero? Honey?"

He slowly awoke and yawned, "Come in." His mother walked in and began to disconnect him from the tubes. "I have a job for you at Silicone Central."

"What is it?"

"It seems your new windy friend is heading for the school."

Zero was confused. "But didn't the Good Guild arrest that guy?"

"Oh, sure they would," she said sarcastically. "If they weren't made of cardboard."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you left him alone with cardboard cutouts!" She slapped him upside the head. "Dumb-dumb!"

"Hey, it fooled Mega Man, too."

Zero's mother just sighed. "Figures. For all his talk of heroics, he is just a boy."

(!)

When he got to the school's courtyard, Zero could see posters with kids' faces on them plastered all over the school. He instantly recognized the kids as Aki Light, Bert Wiley and Peter Punkowski. "What the heck is going on here?"

"Look, it's Zero!"

Zero's eyes widened when he saw an army of kids charge at him, asking for his autograph. "Uh, mom? Maybe you sent me on a bad time."

His mother said in his communicator, "No, I didn't. My scanners tell me Air Man is nearby. Be ready."

"Got it." He ignored the kids' screams of delight and shouted, "QUIET!" Everyone went silent. "Thank you. Now, kids, please leave the school in a calm and orderly-"

"That is an excellent idea, Aki. Will you be our tiebreaker?" Zero instantly recognized the high-pitched, snotty voice of Peter from the other day.

"Tiebreaker?" Zero asked, confused. "Uh, did I miss something?"

"Hold it you," Aki shouted suddenly, pushing his way through the crowd and up to Zero. "Who do you think you are? You're coming in _my_ house? Steal _my_ spotlight?!"

Zero backed away a little. "Spotlight? What?"

"Oh, get over yourself, Aki," Peter said with an air of arrogance. "It's obvious who Zero will choose for student body president. Me!"

Zero was getting more and more confused at the moment. "Student body - what?"

"Uh..." Bert Wiley said, meekly. "We're just running for student president and...uh..."

Zero face palmed. "I'm not a student. I'm home schooled. Anyway, that's not the point! We have got to leave the school right now before-"

"Before I," Air Man said, hovering down from the sky. "The greatest of greatest blow you all like dust in the wind?"

"Air Man," Aki shouted. "I thought I...er...I mean, Mega Man and Zero left you with the Good Guild."

"They were cardboard cutouts," Zero said blatantly.

"Hmm. I thought they looked a little stiff."

A sudden gust of wind from Air Man's cannons blew all the students away, leaving only Zero behind. "This time," Zero said, unsheathing his Z Sword. "I won't be merciful!"

Air Man just laughed and shot out little dust devil tornados at him. "You think you can take me on? I am the greatest! I am the strongest! I am -" CRACK! Zero head butted him and shut him up. "YOU TALK TOO MUCH," he shouted.

Air Man flipped backwards before landing on his feet. Zero was about to attack him only to be pushed aside by a familiar Blue Bomber. "Stay back," Mega Man shouted. "I'm the best! Not you!"

Zero grunted as he got up. "I don't care about being the best. I just want to slice up that robot before he hurts someone."

"Not if I slice him first!" Mega Man charged headlong into battle, leaving Zero baffled. "With what," he asked. "You don't even have a sword."

"It's Air Man's schematics," Suna said after she came out of hiding. "It's somehow made him just as arrogant as Air Man!"

"And judging by the way they are fighting," Zero said, observing Mega Man and Air Man fight each other with tornados. "Their clash is going to produce F5 tornado winds!"

"We have to get everyone out of here," Wiley shouted. "Zero, help Mega Man! I'll evacuate the students!"

"Good plan!"

(!)

Zero jumped into the fray, where Air Man and Mega Man's battle had caused the winds to blow so hard, trees were being uprooted. He called out to the latter, "Mega Man! Stop! Can't you see what you're doing?! Your fight with Air Man is going to blow Silicone Central to the Land of Oz!"

Mega Man blew Air Man off his feet and landed with a proud smirk. "Jealous?"

Zero had had enough. He grabbed the Blue Bomber and started to slap him silly until he switched back to his base form. "Wake up! Look around you! Do you really think this makes you the greatest?" Mega Man, now free from Air Man's schematics, took a good look. Kids were hiding under nailed down tables, huddled in fear, while others were crying due to broken bones.

"Wha...I...This...this isn't what I wanted at all! You and Suna were right."

"And Mini," Mega Mini said. "Just saying."

Mega Man smiled. "And Mini."

"So, you're not a pompous snob anymore," Zero said. "So, any suggestions on how to stop that walking F5 tornado? I can't get close to him without getting blowed."

"I don't know," Mega Man said just as Aki Light's presidential poster flew into his face. "Actually, I do have a plan. Zero! Help me take off these posters and throw them at Air Man!"

"What?"

"Trust me!"

"Well, I don't know what you're doing, but okay!"

Zero and Mega Man ran along the school walls, tearing off all the posters and throwing them at Air Man's tornado. "This is your grand plan," Air Man said, grabbing one of the posters. "A call to action and a few flyers? Pathetic." Zero and Mega Man continued to throw more posters in his face. "I can do this all day! You have simply proved what I know to be true. I am the best!" Suddenly, the posters got stuck in the fans on his back and in his air cannon and jammed the blades, stopping the winds.

"Don't be distracted by your ego," Mega Man said.

"Or you'll miss what's important," said Zero. "LIKE THIS!" And he stabbed Air Man in the head with the Z Sword.

"I...am..." Air Man's voice started to slow down and his eyes dimmed. "You...cheaters..." He slid off the sword and landed with a thud.

Zero put the sword away and nodded. "Like I said, wind bag. I don't care about being the best. I only cared about saving these kids from you."

"You didn't have to do that," Mega Man said, clearly angry at what he did to the wind Robot Master.

"Clearly I did," Zero said. "It's more important to think of others."

Mega Man wanted to grab him, but Zero used a smoke bomb to flee. "Grr!"

"Easy," Mega Mini said. "We just got you free of arrogance after we turned off Air Man's schematics. We don't need you getting all huffy again."

Mega Man sighed. "He is right about one thing. When I signed up for election, I just saw it as a game. I didn't think of others, just myself. After I go back to being Aki Light, I'm gonna drop out of this stupid race."

"Atta boy, kid. Atta boy."

(!)

Zero removed his helmet when he returned home. "It's a good thing I stopped that selfish wind bag when I did, otherwise, we could have been sent to Oz."

"It's a good thing we didn't," his mother said. "I've seen the movie and read the books. Very nasty creatures live there the Kalidahs. Not to mention, Oz is surrounded by a desert that turns people into sand if they touch it. There are things far worse than witches there."

Zero tilted his head. "'Kalidahs'?"

"Monsters with the head of a tiger and the body of a bear." Zero still was confused. "They're in the books."

"Ah." Zero set the helmet down and wiped his forehead. "Still, I can't believe that robot wind bag only cared about being the best. What is he, five years old?"

"Just goes to show," his mother said as she did some research for something Zero could care less. "That some humans and robots only see things as a game or a popularity contest."

"Like a student election?" Zero asked. "That snot nosed kid and Aki tried to use me as a tie breaker."

"Exactly like a student election. It's no different than voting for homecoming king and queen."

"What about the ones who make a difference, like us?"

"Then, they'll have to win the hearts of a lot of people."

Zero smirked. "I have a feeling that Wiley kid's got what it takes. He helped escort the kids to safety when Air Man attacked the school."

"Did he now?" His mother let out a short laugh. "We could use more people like him in our cause."


	5. Chapter 5

In his chamber, Zero, connected to his wires and tubes, watched the television placed next to it. It was playing footage of the Robot Track Meet, a sporting event where robots of all kinds can enter to see who's got the fastest servos. The prize? Five hundred US dollars. "It would be nice to go on the Track Meet. Too bad it's a school only event."

"You should say that," his mother said as she came into the room with a breakfast tray. "I hear they're allowing a human to enter the race."

"Really?"

"Yep. After I hacked into the school's files, I learned that Principal Hundred-Hundred is allowing a Bert Wiley to enter with the help of cybernetic pants and an button that jacks into advanced systems and turbo charges them. I need you to take it for me."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Stealing from a kid? That's shallow, mom."

"It's not shallow. We're just borrowing technology for better use. Besides, it's wasted on something silly as a track meet. It would be put to better use if we had it. Do you understand?"

Zero frowned. "I guess."

"Excellent."

(!)

Principal Hundred-Hundred was outside the school building, using the roof as his office desk, which would make sense considering he was as tall as a skyscraper, when he heard footsteps and a voice say. "Excuse me, Principal Hundred-Hundred!"

"Hmm?" The principal looked up to see the visitor. "Oh, Zero! What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were allowing humans to enter the track meet this year."

"Er, well, yes of course, but this is for students only, not vigilantes."

"Actually, I'm just going as a spectator. I like to see how this human will defeat the robot students."

Principal Hundred-Hundred tried to think of an excuse to keep Zero out of the race, but couldn't. "All right. Fine. But under no circumstances are you to attack anyone. You've already become a bad influence on the students already. Some of them are already emulating you and your beliefs that any robot or human who disturbs peace must be eliminated."

"It's up to people like you to teach them right and wrong," Zero said to the principal. "I'm not a scholar."

"Yes, that's true, I - DOH!"

"Doh? What's - " Zero stopped talking when he saw the giant principal was encased in a large green bubble. "Principal Hundred-Hundred!"

"I...cannot...move!"

"What's happening?"

"I don't..."

Zero heard a sound and looked down at the courtyard to find the students, both human and robot, being trapped in the bubbles and being sent into the building.

"What could be causing this?"

"I don't know," Principal Hundred-Hundred said. "But you must hurry! An attack like this will be all over the school newspapers by tomorrow."

"Don't worry," Zero said. "I'll free the staff and pupils!"

(!)

Zero entered one of the class rooms via a window and found the students and the teacher present standing and staring at the projection screen. Suddenly, live footage appeared on the screen. On it was a large, round robot with a square head, a cannon sticking out of his back and wearing a pair of safety goggles and a blue tie. With the way his body was shaped, it reminded Zero of a flask found in chemistry class. "Hello, class," the robot said very slowly. "Welcome to. Introduction To. Basic. Chemistry No. 1. Colloquially known as. Chem 101. Thank you for your. Kind and completely. Unwilling attention."

"Who is that guy," Zero asked.

"Mister...NRT," the teacher said through gritted teeth. His jaws were frozen shut while stuck in the bubble, so he couldn't speak properly.

"Who?"

"Mr. NRT," the teacher said. "The science teacher. He was fired months ago."

"What for?" Zero asked.

"I recall when the lot of you couldn't stay awake in any of my classes," Mr. NRT said. "For your. Benefit, I have synthesized a compound containing a neural stimulant effective on organic and positronic brains as well as a paralytic agent. So while you will not be able to move. You will definitely stay. Awake. Isn't science amazing? I think so. We have semester's worth of work to cover and you will listen to my every word. Like it. Or not."

"Mom," Zero asked into his communicator. "Can you track this guy's signal?" All he got as a response was snoring. "MOM!"

"Gah! Oh, oh! Sorry. That guy's really boring."

"Focus, mom."

"Right. Sorry. Well, according to my scanners, he's in the building, very close by."

"Thanks."

Zero exited the class room, only to bump into Mega Man. "What are you doing here," they both asked simultaneously. "What am I doing? What are you doing? Stop copying me!"

"Enough," shouted Zero. "You go first."

"I'm going to stop Mr. NRT and free these students."

"Same here."

Mega Man aimed his Buster Cannon at him. "Oh, no! You're not going to hurt this one! He's a teacher who worked at this school!"

"From what I gathered," Zero said. "This guy was fired some time ago."

Mega Man lowered his Buster Cannon in confusion. "'Fired'? I thought he retired. Hey, that rhymed!"

"Look, I don't know what Mr. NRT's deal is," Zero said. "But I have to get him out of the school, in whole or in parts."

"Oh, no you don't. You won't...Look out!"

A cannon popped out of the wall and began firing green bubbles at the two heroes. They both dodged and hid behind a corner before they both shot it down.

"Was that him?" asked Zero. "When did he have the time to put automized weapons in the school?"

Suddenly, there was a loud stomping sound. Both heroes turned around to find Mr. NRT right behind them, pointing the cannon on his back at them. "Dodge this, Mega Man and Zero!" He fired a sticky green substance at them, forcing them to back away from him.

"Be careful," Zero's mother shouted in his ear piece. "That stuff is ten times stronger than the bubbles. One blast, and it's like being stuck in cement."

"Do you have a hall pass, heroes?" Mr. NRT asked threateningly.

"How's this for a hall pass?" Zero asked as he and Mega Man came out of hiding and aimed their guns at the former teacher, only for Mega Man to slip on a discarded slice of pizza. "Not again," he groaned.

Zero grabbed him before Mr. NRT could shoot him and pulled him behind a corner. "How can he be so big and yet so quick?" he said.

"Mr. NRT?" called out Mega Man. "Is that you, sir?"

"You're way too polite to be one of my students," the former science teacher said. "How do you know my old name?"

"Everyone went to SEC at some point, sir."

Zero gave Mega Man a look. "You're a student at this school?"

"No! Uh...look, Mr. NRT, we're all friends here. Why don't you, like, stop splatting everyone and set everyone free?" A loud stomp behind them made Zero turn around and slash Mr. NRT in the round gut. The former teacher let out a groan of pain as Zero jumped onto his belly and pointed the Z Sword at him.

"Now, are you going to let the students and teachers go or am I going to have to get nasty?"

Mr. NRT pushed Zero off and got back up. "No. Thanks. I finally have the student body right where I want them. They didn't call me 'sir'. They called me Mr. Inert! They slept! IN! MY! CLASS!"

"Can you blame them," Zero asked. "Even I would fall asleep if I had such a lousy teacher like you." He ducked behind a desk when Mr. NRT fired more of that sticky goo at him.

"I was a good teacher," the mad teacher shouted. "I loved my work! Apparently, I was the only one. I was unceremoniously removed by my post by an administration that underestimated me! Then a catalyst for change came into my life, giving me a new purpose and a name to celebrate that purpose: Chemistry Man!"

Mega Man and Zero were unimpressed with the name Mr. NRT gave himself. "Chemistry Man?" the former asked incredulously.

"Dude. Yes. I picked it myself."

"Why not call yourself Chemical Man or something more cooler," Zero asked.

"It makes sense," the newly christened Chemistry Man argued. "I am a chemist. Hence, Chemistry Man!"

"Fine, fine. We'll go with Chemistry Man. Doesn't mean I like it."

Mega Man and Zero came out of hiding and aimed their weapons, but Chemistry Man was gone. "I don't understand it," Zero said. "How can a big, bulky robot like him be so stealthy?"

"I don't know," said Mega Man. "He wasn't like this when he was our teacher."

Suddenly, another automated cannon fired the sticky goo at them. "Back to your private lessons," Chemistry Man said.

"Right now," said Mega Man. "You're teaching me you know how to make a mess!" He fired at the cannon and disabled it, only to be ambushed by another cannon. Zero grabbed him out of the way just in time. Chemistry Man appeared behind them and said as he fired from his own cannon mounted on his back, "Children, we're going to press. Pause on the introduction to chemistry to pivot to a secondary topic: dealing with free radicals." He backed Mega Man and Zero against the window. "Step one: Eradicate the free radicals!"

"Not today," Zero shouted. Grabbing Mega Man by the wrist, he smashed the window and jumped out.

Chemistry Man watched them run. "Excellent use of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Zero. You get a gold star."

(!)

They both ran around the building where they encountered Principal Hundred Hundred. "Mega Man, Zero, please! I know you need to win but don't destroy the school to do it."

"We will try," Zero said.

"But sprockets rockets, if you speed things up, I'd appreciate it."

A lightbulb went off in Mega Man's head. "Actually, speeding things up might just get this day saved!"

"Mega Man?"

"Come on, Zero! To the gym!"

(!)

Both heroes entered the gym and Mega Man glimpsed Wiley, frozen in place like all the other students. "What's the plan, Mega Man?" Zero asked.

"Bert made a button to speed the processors of machines. So, if we can use that on our slow friend, Chemistry Man..."

Zero pretended he didn't know what he was talking about. "Do you even know how that thing works?"

"Nope, but I know how it doesn't."

Suddenly, Chemistry Man crashed in through a window and into the gym. He fired his cannon at the two heroes, forcing them to split up. While Chemistry Man focused on Zero, Mega Man grabbed the button from Wiley's pocket. Eventually, Chemistry Man somehow managed to catch Zero and toss him into Mega Man. He stepped on Zero's head while he grabbed Mega Man by the neck. "You're way too disruptive for a calm, learning environment! It's permanent detention for you."

"And I don't get to hear the big lesson?" Mega Man slapped the button onto Chemistry Man, making him let go of both heroes and began to dance around erratically. "Bettertogetridofyounowthanwhat'ssssssssshappppppennnninggggtome?!" His speech was so fast, the heroes could barely make out what he was saying.

"I couldn't help but notice how slowly you do everything," said Mega Man. "Figured I'd help you pick up the pace. Lucky for me, a student here invented something pretty ingenious for that."

Wiley heard that and his face blushed. "'Genius'?"

With Chemistry Man distracted from the sudden burst of sporadic energy, Zero saw his opportunity to jump into the air and stab him through his beaker body. Instantly, he froze in place, chemicals leaking from his body. Wiley' button popped off him and he fell flat on his back. All over the school, the bubbles trapping the students and the teachers popped, releasing their captives. Everyone cheered. Except for Mega Man, Suna, Wiley, and Hundred-Hundred, who were focusing on Zero and Chemistry Man.

"All I wanted...was a little...attention," Chemistry Man groaned.

"A scholar like you should know better," Zero said as he pulled out the Z Sword. "It is not your right to punish one for thinking what they do, no matter how much one disagrees. Your job is to educate them. Teach them right and wrong. It must be knowledge that gives you their attention, not force."

Chemistry Man sat up and glared at him. "Laziness, slothfulness, inattentiveness; they're illnesses. Forcing them to pay attention is the only cure."

"You're wrong. And that's why you must be put to rest."

"Am I not like Principal Hundred-Hundred? The same man who fired me? A source of knowledge with which you disagree? Yet you're rather quick to steal my life."

Zero shook his head. "A small sacrifice to save many."

Chemistry Man laughed. "And you think my deactivation will not give you what I wanted? A little. Attention?" He sparked a little. "Look around you. You inspire humans and robots to put down rogues like me. You don't even see the damage they've done."

"I don't care for their attention. I'm just doing what is right."

"So does Mega Man. So did the other robots you've slain. So did I..." He went limp and fell silent, his beaker body finally empty. Zero sighed.

"I'll have the Good Guild send him for repairs," Principal Hundred-Hundred said, picking up the former chemistry teacher's body. "And when he wakes up, they'll inform him he's still fired." He carried him out of the building with a solemn look on his face.

(!)

Aki flipped the bunny button to Wiley. "Guess, your bunny button is useful after all, Bert."

Wiley beamed as he caught it. "Mega Man said it was ingenious!"

"Yes he did, and he was right. I should have known better than to underestimate it. And you."

"'Ingenious'! That has 'genius' in it, right?"

"You want to know what's genius?" Aki asked as he put an arm around Wiley and Suna. "Having you as a best friend. So, when do we get started on the Wiley Wind-Up 2.0?"

Before Wiley could get into the details, his button started to fizzle and smoke before falling apart. "What?! How-how did this happen?" He took a closer look. "Wait, this isn't my Wiley Wind-Up prototype! This is a fake!" He glared at Aki. "Did you take it?"

"Hey, don't look at me! I just found it in the gym after Mr. NRT...I mean, Chemistry Man shut down!"

Suna was confused. "But, if he didn't take it, who did?"

Wiley sighed. "Ah, does it matter? After seeing what it did to Chemistry Man, I don't think I could have won without my cyber running pants going crazy. I can make a new Wiley Wind-Up in no time."

"Still," Suna said. "I wonder who stole the prototype?"

(!)

"Well, I broke my promise to Principal Hundred-Hundred, which means I can't see the track meet," Zero said when he returned home. "But I managed to get away before he could lecture me. And I got you this." He tossed the Wiley Windup onto the work bench.

His mother was impressed. "I got to say, for an amateur genius, Bert Wiley is years ahead of it's time. An energy booster? I didn't even think to give my technology an energy boost. It's a little too faulty, but with this, your upgrades will take less time to make."

"I still feel bad," Zero said in his chamber. "Taking that kid's invention. From what I heard, Wiley spent a long time making it."

"Please," she said. "His intellect is wasted at that school. Under my tutelage, he could have helped me invent machines that would have turned the city to our cause."

"Too bad he's a fan of Mega Man like everyone else."

His mother smirked. "All in good time, my son. All in good time."


	6. Chapter 6

One evening at Silicone City, a strange caravan arrived in the middle of the park, attracting the park goers with its strange music and colored wagons. When a whole crowd was gathered, the wagons opened, and a whole carnival unfolded, including a ferris wheel, a carousel, bumper cars, a funhouse and a ticket booth. Managing the ticket booth was a robot resembling a jester with arms like accordions. He spoke in a goofy voice, "Come one, come all to the brand new Silicone City Carnival! Only twenty-five cents per ticket!" Maybe it was the low ticket prices that attracted the people, or perhaps the smell of cotton candy, or perhaps the neon lights. But whatever it was, people bought their tickets, unaware they had just walked into a trap.

(!)

The next day at Silicone City. Aki Light had just arrived at school when he noticed kids looking excited for some reason. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were looking at posters all over the corridors' walls. "Weird. I don't recall there ever being a carnival before."

"Eh, never was a fan of them," Mega Mini said.

"What do you mean, you've never been to one."

"Aki!" An excited Suna walked up to him and held up two slips of paper. "I got tickets for both of us!"

Aki took one of them. "Tickets for that new carnival that just arrived? When did you get them so quick?"

"They're on sale now, right in front of the school!"

Aki took another look. Indeed, right outside the school was a ticket vendor and a long line of kids. "Aren't carnivals and circuses...I don't know, outdated?"

"Heck no," Suna argued. "This kind of entertainment has been around long before robots were invented."

"The stone age?"

Suna face palmed. "Very funny, ro-bro. Look, I just spent my money on the ticket. I don't want it to go to waste. Please, go with me."

(!)

At the same time, Zero was resting in his chamber when his mother awoke him. "Wake up, Zero. I need you to go on an investigation for me."

"What is it, mom?" he asked as he removed the wires and tubes from his body.

"This." She handed him a flyer for the new carnival.

"So? What's wrong with the carnival?"

"Other than the fact that it's full of drunk morons and abused animals, the city hall hasn't allowed a permit for any carnivals and circuses in years. The last one ended right when the Hard Times started. Not only that, it's become an overnight sensation and its not even been a week."

"What's wrong with that? The people deserve happiness, even if it is illegal," Zero asked as he put on his armor and helmet. "Especially with Sergeant Night starting his anti-robot crusade."

"The thing is," his mother said as she handed him his Z Saber and Zero Buster. "Sometimes people like to take advantage of happiness. Lure them in with false promises of milk and honey. Then you realize it's too late to save yourself."

"I still think you're being paranoid."

His mother snorted. "Be that as it may, I still want you to go to that carnival and see if there's nothing suspicious."

"I still need a ticket."

"Well, you're in luck. I swiped this off that Peter Punkowski kid when he wasn't looking." She pulled a ticket out of her pocket and handed it to her son. He took it and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks."

"One more thing: should you find any carnies, punch them in the face. They like that."

"Uh...okay."

(!)

When he got to the carnival later that late afternoon, Zero could see that there was indeed a whole crowd of people waiting in line. It would take hours to even reach the ticket booth. So, he did the most logical thing: pull out his Zero Buster, set it to stun and fire at the people and walk to the booth. The ticket taker was scared. "Uh...ticket please?"

"Here you go." Zero handed him the slip of paper.

"E-enjoy the carnival!"

As Zero walked past the gates and pushed his way past the crowds, he decided to pass the time to play one of the games. It was one of those games where you knock the bottles off the stool to win a prize. Zero found himself winning three times in a row. "Here you go, sir," the man attending the game said and handed him a large porcelain doll of a girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing a black jumpsuit with pink and white boots and a pink vest. Zero scanned it. "Anything weird about it, mom?"

"No. It's just an ordinary doll."

"Hmm." Zero put it down and walked over to the food vendor. "Two hotdogs please."

"Certainly."

Zero sat on a bench and had his food scanned. "Anything?"

"No," his mother said. "I don't detect any toxins. All clear."

"Excuse me? Are you Zero?" Zero looked up to see a woman with strawberry hair in front of him.

"Yeah," he said. "What's up?"

"It's my son. He's been in the funhouse for several minutes, and he hasn't come out. I was wondering, would you mind finding him?"

Zero nodded.

(!)

The funhouse must have been the most popular attraction because there was a long line. "Well, gotta do this again, do I?" Zero walked across people's heads ignoring their shouts and complaints as he made it to the front of the line. The ride manager was about to tell him to go back to the rear, but was silenced when he pointed his Z Buster at him. "Uh, on second thought, go ahead!"

When Zero walked into the funhouse, he was greeted by jack in the boxes that popped out of nowhere, followed by a spinning room, and a slide that led to another room. When he got to the hall of mirrors, he could hear someone crying. He could see a little boy, curled up in a fetal position and huddled in a corner.

"Hold on, kid, I'm coming for - ooh!" He bumped into a mirror. Now he understood why the kid hadn't come out of the funhouse. He couldn't find his way out of this hall of mirrors. "It's okay, kid, I know a real way to solve a maze." He took out his Z Saber and sliced his way through the glass walls until he finally met the boy. "Do you need some help?"

"Zero!" The boy wrapped his arms around him. "I knew either you would save me!"

"Thanks. Now, come on, let's go. Your mom is waiting."

(!)

"Mommy!" The kid ran from Zero to his mother, who scooped him up in her arms. "Thank you, Zero!"

Zero nodded in approval. "Feels good to rescue someone instead of just fighting a Robot Master." He talked to his communicator. "Looks like you were wrong, mom. Aside from it being unauthorized, there's nothing wrong with this carnival."

"Mmm, I guess. All right, come back home."

"Actually, can I ride the rides? I haven't inspected them yet." There was a brief moment of silence. "Hello?"

"You just want to ride the rides, don't you?"

"Uh..."

"All right. Proceed with the 'inspection'."

Yes! Zero mentally cheered before heading over to the haunted castle dark ride. "Please remain seated and keep your hands and legs in the vehicle at all times," the automated voice said. The car moved toward the castle...

(!)

And Zero found himself in a cage. "Ugh...where are we?"

"Looks like the junkyard," his mom said. "We lost communication for a while. I was getting worried. I haven't heard from you for a few hours."

"Junkyard?" Yep, Zero was in the junkyard, it was early evening and he wasn't alone. Around him were spinning cages containing people he saw from the carnival, including the kid and his mom he met earlier. "What's going on here?" He recognized that voice as Aki Light.

"I don't know." That was Suna.

"Don't worry," Zero called out. "I'll get us out." He used his Z Saber to cut himself free from the cage and land on the ground. Suddenly, there was a loud, high-pitched, maniacal laughter. He turned around fast to see the clown robot with accordion arms coming for him. "Stay away from there, little man!" He spun around and took a bow. He looked up at him, as if expecting Zero to laugh or applause. Zero did nothing of the sort. The clown frowned. "Everyone used to laugh at me. Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! I was a walking punchline. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! But not anymore."

Zero pointed his sword at him. "Why are you doing this?"

The clown stretched his arms out and tried to punch Zero, but missed; Zero jumped on one of the cages to get out of the way. "My carnival was the most popular one around! Everyone came for miles just to have a good time. Then the Hard Times came," Clown Man said. "Everyone either died or ran away! Nobody cared for old Clown Man's carnival anymore!"

(!)

In a pixelated flashback, Clown Man watches as people flee from terror from an army of rogue robots while he begs for them to come back.

"And what do you robot and human soldiers do to my carnival after you come back?"

At first Clown Man is happy someone is coming back to his carnival, only...

"You tear down my carnival and have it melted down and recycled into weapons!"

Now alone, Clown Man is in tears, until finally, something snaps.

(!)

Clown Man laughed maniacally as he juggled a pair of chainsaws. "That's why I decided to give all the happy people a lift on this fun ride!" Zero grimaced at the frightened faces of the people stuck in the spinning cages. "I won't let you stop the ride, Zero," Clown Man continued. "If the ride stops, the people will run away. And that won't be any fun at all!"

Zero winced at the clown's laughter before charging at him with his Z Saber. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop him; Clown Man used his accordion arms to spring himself up into the air and tried to slash his opponent with the chainsaws, but Zero ran out of the way. While Clown Man attempted to get the chainsaws out of the ground, Zero saw his chance and slashed the clown Robot Master across the back. Clown Man countered by punching him in the chest, sending him flying into a cage.

Zero fell to the ground and rubbed the back of his head. "Ow." He looked up and gasped when Clown Man suddenly charged at him with the chainsaws, swinging them wildly. Zero backed away from the frenzied swings, but tripped on a scrap of metal. He fell on his back, but rolled out of the way to escape a slash from Clown Man's chainsaws. He got back up and kicked Clown Man in the posterior, sending him flying into a cage and spinning him around like a top.

"That's one carnival ride I won't be standing in line for," Zero commented.

The clown Robot Master was finally flung off the ride and crashed into a pile of scrapped carnival parts. Groaning, he slowly got back up and rubbed his head. Suddenly, there was a loud creaking sound. He looked up to see the scrap pile started to sway, then fall over. Gulping, he pulled out an umbrella and opened it over his head as the whole pile landed on top of him.

"Ooh," Zero said. "That had to hurt."

"Uh," someone from the spinning cages shouted. "Now that he's defeated, would you mind getting us down? I think I'm going to throw up!"

"Sure," Zero said, walking over to the cages. "Where's the key?"

"It's in his pocket!" a girl called out.

Zero face faulted. "Well, I'm not digging through all that garbage. I guess I'll have to cut them down."

"Be careful with that sword! I don't want to lose an...ZERO! Behind you!"

A roaring chainsaw blade popped out of the scrap pile and Clown Man clambered out with a look of rage on his face. "Oh, now you've made this clown cry! Boo hoo! You're going to pay for that!" He tossed the chainsaw aside and pulled out a bunch of balloons. He twisted them and folded them until they took shape. "Ta da! A tommy gun!"

"Oh, boy." Zero ducked behind a rusty bumper car as the clown open fired, laughing away. Clown Man then jumped onto a desk and fired at the spot where Zero was hiding. "He's got me pinned down," he said. "I've got to get that crazy clown off his perch." That's when he noticed the discarded chainsaw.

"Come out, come out, little boy," Clown Man called out. "Don't you want a balloon?"

Zero jumped from behind the bumper car and charged at him, using the chainsaw to block the balloon gun's bullets. Which were made of rubber. Finally, when he got close enough, Zero rammed the chainsaw through Clown Man's chest. Oil and fluids sprayed everywhere as Clown Man continued to laugh until it started to slow then die down. A key fell out of his pocket as he fell on his side.

Aki and Suna Light were traumatized when Zero unlocked their cages. "I think I'm going to have nightmares for a long time," the former said.

"What," Mega Mini said. "From the kidnapping, Clown Man or Zero slicing him in half."

"All of the above."

Zero unlocked the last cage and got a big hug from the boy he rescued from the hall of mirrors. "You saved us, Zero! You're a real hero!"

Zero put the boy down. "I don't call myself a hero. I just do what is right and for anyone who believes in me."

"Well, I believe in you."

"So do I," his mother said.

"As do we," a robot said, gesturing to the rest of the rescued people.

Zero nodded. "Thanks. Now, there's just one thing left to do. Getting us out of this junkyard. It stinks like...like..."

"Garbage?" asked Aki.

"Yeah."

(!)

Zero hadn't heard from his mother when he returned home and hooked himself in his chamber. "Mom? Are you all right?"

His mother was next to his chamber with a pale face and wide eyes. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. I think...I think I'm just gonna stay awake tonight."

Zero gave her a look. "Did Clown Man scare you too?"

"Yep. I think I just found another reason to hate circuses."

"Well, on the plus side," Zero said. "I did manage to get more people to believe in me."

His mother smiled. "Oh, indeed? That means more people are going to side to our cause."

Zero made an easy frown when she said that and left for her room. He paid no mind however, as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

From the rooftops, Zero felt the heat from the house fire as he got closer to it. "How did a toaster fire get this bad, mom?"

"Just a routine fire fighting, Zero. There's a fire hydrant nearby."

"Got it, switching off communications."

Zero landed in front of the fire hydrant but before he could turn it on, he heard Mega Man say, "I got this one, Zero!"

Zero face palmed. "Of course you do."

"Activate Wave Man schematics!" Mega Man's buster cannon turned into a water cannon and began to put out the fires. Slowly.

"Okay, this isn't working," Zero said.

"Plan B! Activate Ice Man schematics!" Mega Man's buster cannon turned into the ice gun and fired at the fires, turning them into blocks of ice. Wait. That didn't come from neither Mega Man nor Zero.

"Who did that?"

"I did, Zero! I'm a hero!" A familiar looking Robot Master in ice blue winter gear and ice skates whizzed by him, freezing the flames while moving gracefully like a figure skater. When he was finished, he bowed before the cheering crowd. The cheers turned to gasps when Zero pointed the Z Saber at him. "Wait! I'm a hero!"

"The last time you said that," the red cyborg said. "You froze robots and humans together in blocks of ice. I thought you learned your lesson."

(!)

Eight-Bit flash back to when Ice Man was freezing robot and human students together only to be stabbed in the gut by Zero.

(!)

Ice Man made a dark frown. "I _did_ learn something. Especially after you stabbed me in the gut. I learned that you're no hero, no matter what you say. I'm giving the city what it wants."

"Yeah, that's nice," said Mega Man, butting into the conversation. "But the hero position is already taken."

"If that was true," Ice Man argued. "You would have put out that fire like me!" To show off his new "heroics", he started putting out the remaining fires. Mega Man tried to at least put out one of them, but Ice Man blocked him and said, "Stand aside, citizen!"

"Why can't I do that?"

"We've been busy saving the city instead of making snow cones," Mega Mini said. "Plus, ice is kind of his thing."

"Well, saving the day is my thing," Mega Man said.

"Gotta pick your battles, kid."

Something triggered in Mega Man's head the moment he said that. "Pick my battles...yeah! Hey, Ice Man!" He pointed his ice gun at Ice Man, but Zero stopped him. "What are you doing?!" he shouted.

"Picking my battles, blonde." He squirmed out of Zero's grasp and fired at Ice Man, trapping him in a block of ice. He easily broke free.

"Thanks for the ice bath, chum," he said. "But a job well done is all the reward I need. You should leave the heroing to the professionals."

Snow began to fall on top of Mega Man, and only Mega Man as he said in a drone, "Leave the heroing to the professionals." He walked away as if in a trance. Zero was puzzled.

"What's wrong with him, Mom?"

"It's the Ice Man schematics," she said in his communicator. "When he downloaded it, he also downloaded Ice Man's faults, like him taking everything too literally."

"That would explain the way he tried to attack Ice Man like that."

"Forget him. Follow Ice Man. Keep him from hurting people in case his own faults cause him to hurt people."

"You got it, Mom."

(!)

From the rooftop he was perching, Zero could see Ice Man save a kid from getting run over when she ran into the middle of the road to get her ball...by freezing the cars and causing a pile up. Following that, Ice Man stopped a purse snatcher from getting away by freezing the purse. The problem? The purse was in an ice block too heavy for the woman to carry.

"Guess I gotta stop him before things can get any worse," Zero said.

"Uh, you might want to put Ice Man on hold. Bank robbery in progress."

"On it, Mom."

(!)

At the bank, two humans and a robot armed with glue rifles barged into the building and one of them shouted, "We're the Hoover Gang and this here's an old fashioned stick up, see?"

"One of you move so much as a move a muscle or a piston..."

"...we'll make soup out of you literally!"

Before the bank robbers to get the money, a familiar red cyborg appeared and pointed his Z Buster at them. "Now listen here, all three of you! You're obviously new at this, so I'm willing to go easy on you provided you return the money and never think of doing something like this again!"

"Oh, come on," one of the robbers shouted. "Don't you have a robot to blow up or something?"

Before Zero could respond, he suddenly found himself frozen in a block of ice. Guess who jumped down from the ceiling and landed on the ice? "You pseudo custodians should go back to your day jobs! I'm a hero! Heroes know best!" Zero broke out of the ice block, sending Ice Man flying into a wall. The three robbers saw their chance to flee and made a break for it, but a blast from the Z Buster stopped them.

"We're not done here," Zero shouted. "So stay there!"

"Yes, Zero," the robbers said, getting onto their hands and knees.

Suddenly, two Good Guild officers barged into the room. "Everybody freeze!"

"Did someone say freeze?" Ice Man froze them in blocks of ice. Zero punched him in the face. "What are you doing? Those are good guys!"

"What? He said freeze."

Zero growled in frustration. "Why can't you get that darn bug fixed? Stop taking everything so literal!"

Ice Man said darkly, "Such hostility. And you call yourself a hero?" He fired his his gun at Zero, only to be blocked every time with the Z Saber. "How many times have you hurt people trying to save them? How many bots' lives have you taken to save other bots?"

"At least I do not hurt the people I'm trying to save! You tried to help an old lady cross the street by turning a crosswalk into an ice rink! She broke her hip the moment she got to the other side!"

"He's right," a familiar voice said. Mega Man jumped through the hole in the ceiling Ice Man made and landed between Ice Man and Zero.

"You're back," Zero said. "What happened?"

"Let's just say I had to relearn how to be a hero."

"Hey, guy-who-doesn't-remember-my-name," Ice Man said. "Stay out of the way! There's lots of heroing around here!"

"Sort of," Mega Man said. "You stopped them, but you've also endangered all these people. Zero, help me free these guys before they catch a cold."

With that, Zero and Mega Man freed the people from the blocks of ice, except for the Hoover Gang; they were just frozen from the waist down. When Ice Man saw this, he gasped. "Are you helping the bad guys? Because that makes you a bad guy!" He started blasting his ice gun at the two heroes, who countered with their own weapons.

"I don't want to fight you, Ice Man, but people are frozen," Mega Man said. "If we don't help them now..."

"Then we won't be setting criminals free," Ice Man shouted. "A hero doesn't help criminals! He stops them no matter what it takes!" Zero blocked another wave of ice blasts with the Z Saber and fired back with the Z Saber.

Mega Man activated his Wave Man schematics and turned his buster cannon into the water cannon. "No, a real hero protects everyone!" Ice Man fired at Mega Man, but the Blue Bomber used the water cannon to jump into the air and land without harm. "Sometimes, you even have to protect people from themselves."

"And you fall under that category, Ice Man," Zero said, pointing the Z Buster at him. Ice Man used his powers to block every laser blast as he said, "No, I'm a hero now! I know what heroes do!"

Mega Man jumped into the air and fired the water cannon. In response, Ice Man used his powers to stop the water...which was what Zero was hoping would happen. Without realizing it, Ice Man froze himself into a block of ice, leaving himself vulnerable to Zero's sword. The weapon pierced the ice block, Ice Man's chest and the other side of the ice block. Ice Man's eyes dimmed and his lifeline shut down.

Zero pulled the sword out and sheathed it. "Sorry, kid."

"You should be," Mega Man said. "He wasn't a bad bot. He just needed to learn about what happens when you take things too far. And, considering he reminded me about how to be a real hero, I could have given him a second chance."

Zero sighed. "Some people don't learn, fixed in their ways as they are."

"And what about you? Are you fixed on your 'destroy all humans and robots who don't agree with you' ways? It sounds like something Sergeant Night would say!" He suddenly regretted saying that. Zero grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into a wall.

"You be careful what you compare me with," he hissed. "Night only wants robots to be obedient, automatous slaves. Just tools to be ordered about. He would see your kind enslaved! When I attack humans and robots, it's the ones who cannot be reasoned with! Do you honestly think someone like, oh I don't know, Fire Man can be reasoned with?"

Mega Man let out a grunt of frustration. "It still isn't right!"

"It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong. As long as it makes humans and robots happy, I don't care what you think of me."

"Activate Fire Man schematics!" Before Mega Man could get a chance to activate the fire powers, Zero dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared.

Mega Man, alone with the frozen people and Ice Man, let out a roar of anger. "Cool your jets, Big M," Mega Mini shouted. "Your circuitry is overheating!" Smoke came out of Mega Man's nose.

"If you're worried about Ice Man, don't worry!" Suna came out of hiding. "Dad can repair him! Maybe even give him another chance!"

Mega Man's erratic breathing slowed down, then turned back to his base form. "You're right. Everyone deserves a second chance. Even someone like Ice Man."

"And perhaps Zero," Suna said.

"No, not him," Mega Man said. "It's like he said, some people don't learn, fixed in their ways as they are."


	8. Chapter 8

**I chose to skip over Trust Your Guts Man because since it takes place at the Light House, Zero and his mother would have no knowledge of it.**

(!)

Zero was racing off for the construction site as per his mother's command. Apparently, Drill Man was wreaking havoc on the crew and their progress. Mega Man was already at the scene. And was getting the crud beat out of him. "I warned you before not to meddle in my affairs," Drill Man shouted at him. Drill Man was a large orange robot with a drill for a scalp and for hands.

"I'll stop meddling when you stop trying to wreck my city!" Drill Man dug underground, then burst out under Mega Man, sending him on his back. Mega Man got back up and aimed his buster cannon at him. "At least mix things up! Another day, another construction site. Isn't this bit getting old, Drill Man?"

"'Drill'? 'Bit'? I DESPISE PUNS!" Drill Man was about to attack Mega Man again, only to be stopped by a familiar green laser sword. His eyes narrowed at his new opponent. "Zero..." He pushed Zero back. "A hypocrite unlike any other."

"Hypocrite?" Zero tilted his head, confused.

"You claim to fight for peace, for unity among robots and humans, yet what do you do? You destroy those humans and robots to obtain it!"

"And what you think you're doing isn't peaceful?"

Drill Man scoffed. "Look at me! You think I want to be this...this...freak?! I wanted to be a musician until my father chopped off my hands and replaced them with these drills! 'Join the family business' he said! And what does the family business do? Replace me! Well, if I can't find happiness, no one can!"

"If your hands are what's causing you grief..." Zero pointed his sword at him. "Allow me to ease your burden."

"Destroy the only thing that keeps me going? The only thing that gives me revenge? Gives me purpose? I THINK NOT!" Drill Man slammed his hands into the ground and sent pieces of debris flying into Zero's direction. Zero ducked and sliced up the rocks into small pebbles with his sword. One big piece of debris smacked into Zero in the chest, sending him flying into a wall. "Ow."

"Activate Hypno Woman schematics!" Mega Man called out.

"Hypno Woman?" Zero hadn't heard that one before. He watched as Mega Man's color turned from blue to white and purple and his buster cannon turned into something shaped like a lotus flower. "I need to get Drill Man to see how he's misplacing his anger. You know this villain act isn't really you," Mega Man said to him. "You're an artist at heart." What fired out of the lotus flower was a blue blob with a smiling face. When it contacted with Drill Man, his eyes turned into purple and yellow swirls and his movement became sluggish.

"You're so right," Drill Man said in a droning voice. "My feelings for my father, for these ghoulish hands, the world for my musical talent! I've blamed everyone but myself," he sobbed. "I'm a monster!"

"Yes, you are," Mega Man said before immediately correcting himself. "I mean, no! You're not a monster. You just need an attitude adjustment."

"Be careful chief," Mega Mini said. "Mind control power is some hinky stuff."

"Relax Mega Mini," Mega Man said as he walked over to Drill Man. "Just a little hypno power to help him see what he already knows is right. Now that everyone's nice and calm, why don't we fix this mess?" He gestured to the ruined construction site.

"I can do one better," Drill Man said. "I'll finish constructing the amphitheater myself! If I can't be a musician, at least I can help other musicians give their music to the people!"

An idea literally came in Mega Man's head, blinding Mega Mini a little. "That's it, Drilly! We're gonna put on a concert and you're gonna make music again!"

In Drill Man's hypnotized mind, he felt his mechanical heart jump. "On the stage, performing? But how?"

"You build a theater, and I'll take care of the rest."

The two robots high-fived...much to Mega Man's pain and the two went on their way.

Mega Man was about to leave when he was stopped by a green laser sword. "Mind control?" Zero said, disapprovingly. "Is this the answer to your problem? You're doing exactly what I'm trying to prevent: humans and robots trying to control one another!"

"I'm not controlling him! I'm giving him a more positive outlook on life! Anyway, it's better than how you do things! Slicing and hacking robots and humans who break the law without giving them a second chance!"

"And what will happen when the hypnosis wears off or if he breaks free from your control?"

Mega Man got angry. "Shut up! Just shut up! Listen to me and listen good, partner. I want you out! Out of this city, and out of my life!" He fired a blue blob with an angry face on it. When it made contact with Zero, his eyes turned into purple and yellow spirals. "Okay," he said. "I'll leave this city and out of your life."

"What?!" Zero's mother shouted through his communicator. "Zero! Stop! I order you to stop!" But Zero ignored her command and continued to walk in the direction of the city's exit. "Zero! Don't make me activate the failsafe!" Zero ignored her. "Zero? Please, don't make me do this." She was beginning to sound desperate. "Please..." He didn't even respond. When he took another step, there was a loud explosion.

(!)

Zero let out a gasp when he awoke several hours later. He was back in his room, back in his chamber he usually slept in. "How...what am I? Mom? What's going on? Why am I here?" He started hyperventilating. "Mom? Why can't I feel my arms? My legs?" He looked down to find himself a torso with tubes sticking into the stubs where his arms and legs should be. The rest of his body was completely damaged and various wires and tubes were connected to him. "Mom?" he shouted in a panic.

"Well, it's about time you woke up." His mother came into the room. "It took me several minutes to pick up the pieces. Literally. And I must admit, I didn't think Mega Man had it in him to use mind control powers. These new upgrades will make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Mom!" he shouted. "What happened?! What did you do to my body?!"

"Oh, that." She said it like it was nothing. "I activated the failsafe."

"Failsafe?"

"Yes, don't you remember? In the event you fall under someone else's control and I am unable to break you free, I type a passcode and your mechanical parts explode remotely."

"EXPLODE?! You didn't tell me that's what the failsafe does!"

"Yeah, there's a lot of things I don't tell about you," his mother said nonchalantly. "But that's beside the point. You're gonna miss the concert."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "What concert?"

"The one that Mega Man is hosting with Drill Man as the star attraction. Here." She showed him live footage of the concert on her phone. It. Was. Awful. Drill Man, still under Mega Man's influence, was the disc jokey and...well, remember that his hands were drills and that he wasn't playing music. Just making a loud scraping sound that made the crowd cringe, cover their ears and boo loudly over the noise. Unfortunately, Drill Man was so deep in the trance, he did not realize what he was doing.

Zero winced at the sound of the scraping. "Good lord! How is he not making anyone deaf?"

Then, what he feared came true. The hypnosis over Drill Man wore off. The Robot Master looked around, realizing what he was doing and where he was for the first time. He let out a loud scream of despair, "NOOOOOOO! THIS IS NOT MAGNUM OPUS! This is just noise! Terrible noise that you tricked me into making!" He pointed an accusing drill at Mega Man on the left side of the stage. He looked at his hands in horror and roared, "You did this!"

"No," Mega Man protested. "We're friends, remember?"

"Friends?! You've made a joke of my dreams and turned me into a clown! You want music? How do you like the ring of that?!" He punched Mega Man in the gut.

Zero's mother turned off the phone. "Well, that went well."

"How is this doing well?!" Zero shouted. "I'm a torso with no arms and legs! And I'm pretty sure my internal organs are exposed! I can't fight like this!"

"Oh, quit your wining, you big baby. You'll have your upgrades ready in no time."

"While you're at it, can you do something about the failsafe that doesn't cause me to...oh, I don't know, explode?"

Zero's mother looked at him. "Okay fine." Zero smiled. "I'll just let it electrocute you instead."

"Oh, come on!"

(!)

Meanwhile, back at the Light House, Dr. Thomas Light was watching the news of Mega Man defeating Drill Man when a new story appeared. Zero apparently spontaneously exploded in broad daylight in the middle of a sidewalk. What's strange was the woman in a black van picking up Zero's remains and taking them away. When Dr. Light saw the woman's face, he dropped the glass of water he was holding. "Ciel?!"


	9. Chapter 9

"Too many villains. Too little time. Too little battery." That's what Mega Man was thinking. First Fire Man tried to burn down the park, so Mega Man pushed him into the pond. Then Air Man tried to blow the streets away, so Mega Man literally kicked him into a paddy wagon. Immediately after that, Blasto Woman went on a shoplifting spree, so Mega Man had to use his ice powers to freeze her jet pack. It was tiring. So. Very...tiring...need...sleep. "The only good thing about this is," he yawned. "No Zero."

(!)

"Warn me about the failsafe next time, okay?" Zero asked as he tested out his new body. It looked the same as his old one, but he could tell that there were some improvements to it. He flexed his fingers, did some stretches and began kicking the air.

"Then you better pray you don't fall under someone's mind control again," his mother said. "Rogue Robot Masters have been running rampant since you exploded last week."

"And whose fault is that?" asked Zero, giving his mother an accusing glare.

"Not my fault you were too slow to stop Mega Man from hypnotizing you." She got to work on some new project, then looked up to face her son. "Don't look at me like that. Just go do your thing and help those people."

Zero sighed. "Might as well. Who do I have to kill this time?"

"Elec Man. An energy jacker wanted by the Good Guild. The guy treats electricity like a form of cocaine. The more he absorbs, the more power he gains." Suddenly, the lights flickered. "And judging from that, he's at the power plant."

"Then that's where I'll stop him before he causes a permanent black out."

(!)

When Zero entered the power plant, he found a red and black robot wearing a yellow lightning mask and his left hand was a plug; he was using it to drain the plant's energy supplies. "All right, jacker," Zero commanded, pointing his Z Buster at him. "Step away from the power cells!"

When Elec Man turned to face him, he shouted...something at him. He was speaking so fast, Zero could hardly make out what he was saying. He did manage to catch the words "stop", "power" and "Elec Man".

Zero just made a face and said, "What did you say?" Elec Man babbled something again, but he spoke too fast for him to understand. "I'm sorry, could you speak slower please?"

Suddenly, there was a loud yawn. They both turned to find Mega Man, pointing his buster cannon at them, but Zero immediately saw something was wrong with him. His movements were sluggish, his eyes were droopy and he was constantly yawning. "Dude, are you okay?"

"I'll give you one chance to step away from that control box and leave," Mega Man yawned. "Please take it. Please."

"Uh, did you recharge last night?" Zero asked.

Suddenly, Elec Man babbled something again and rapidly jumped away from Zero's range and punched Mega Man in the gut. "Whoa," Zero shouted. "He's fast! Mom was right, this bot really is like a guy on cocaine!"

Elec Man snuck up behind Zero and fired a series of electric shocks at him. Zero blocked them with his Z Saber, but some managed to hit him. "Too...fast!"

"Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme! Can'ttouchme!"

"Okay, that time, I understood you."

Mega Man got up and said drowsily, "Replication activation."

When Elec Man saw that his data was happening, he shouted, "What'shappening?! What'shappening?! Thejuiceisloose!"

Something strange happened the instant Mega Man copied his opponent's data. His power cells went into overdrive and his behavior circuitry became hyperactive. "Thatwasfast! ActivateElecManschematics,Mini! Woo-hoo-woo-hoo-woo-hoo!" His color changed from blue to red and black and his buster cannon turned into a plug. As quick as lightning, he attacked Elec Man with his own electricity powers. They were moving so fast, Zero was having a hard time keeping up with the two of them. Even Mega Man's witty banter was too fast.

"Uh...Mom? I don't think I can do this."

"I agree. I didn't anticipate Elec Man to be so powerful and so fast. With their erratic behaviors, it might take a while for them to realize the power's coming back. Come back to the lab. I might have to give you a special weapon for you to combat that speed."

"On it."

(!)

"So, what have you got to help me fight against a energy-driven jacker?" Zero asked when he returned home.

"This." His mother held up a funny looking gun shaped like an old fashioned camera. "One flash of this and anyone, organic or machine, will be hit with a virus that infects their systems."

Zero took the camera and asked, "What does it do?"

"When a person's senses are pushed to the limit, they often describe a sensation where everything around them seems to slow down. This virus forces a person's consciousness into that state of heightened awareness. With this, anything moving faster than the speed of light will appear to move as slow as a snail. So, you can imagine what a guy jacked on speed like Elec Man would be like if he were to get hit with this virus."

Zero made a sly grin. "Interesting. Maybe then I might have some way to understand him now."

(!)

It looked like Elec Man hadn't learned his lesson. After his first defeat, he was back at the power plant, draining its energy. And with his back turned, he was vulnerable to Zero's weapon. Zero was hiding behind a pillar and was about to fire when he heard, "ActivateElecManschmatics, Mini!" He poked his head out to find Mega Man and Elec Man fighting rapidly. "Uh, I'm not sure I can get a clear shot, Mom!"

"Just aim when they're both standing still," his mother said in his communicator. "Get ready..."

Zero found a perfect spot to aim the weapon. He leaped onto a catwalk without anyone noticing, took aim and began to play the waiting game. Zero's eyes watched Elec Man move about rapidly, giving attacks to Mega Man while also taking hits. Mega Man was also being...erratic. Every movement caused a spark in his joints and he began to twitch violently. "Elec Man's powers are overloading his systems! I have to put an end to this now!"

Mega Man and Elec Man charged at each other, ready to punch each other in the face, then suddenly there was a flash of light and they both found themselves frozen.

"Finally," Zero said. "I can put an end to the crazy!" He jumped down from the cat walk and walked to Elec Man.

"Mega Man!" Zero turned to find Suna Light and Rush the robot dog run over to Mega Man. "What did you do to him?!"

"What I did to him," Zero said, gesturing to Elec Man. "To put it bluntly, I slowed down his sense of time to the point where one second feels like one hundred years."

"That's kind of cruel," Suna said.

"It may be, but it also means it can slow him down so I can do this." He fired his Z Buster at Elec Man's chest, blasting a hole in it. The Robot Master remained frozen, his body completely slowed down. "I wonder how long it will take for his positronic brain to process that he's got a hole in his body and go offline?"

"Why did you do that?" Suna said with anger. "He didn't even pose any threat anymore."

"He would have once the virus wore off. It's only temporary. And what do you think he would have done? Gone back to draining more energy."

"You're..." Mega Man said, his speech slowed down due to the virus. "...wrong..."

"Am I? I saw the way you were fighting, Blue Bomber. You were erratic, your fighting style was hyperactive, your systems were overloading. You were acting like a drug addict. Like him." He pointed to the stiffened body of Elec Man. "And judging by the way he was acting, he's been jacking energy for years. That kind of abuse is irreversible."

"He could have been given a chance," Suna said. "He could have been rehabilitated."

Zero shook his head. "Just because he can be sober doesn't mean he can't relapse. All he would have needed is one push." Suddenly, he realized something. "Hey, where did he go? The virus hasn't worn off yet." It's true. Elec Man was gone.

"Maybe someone saved him," Suna said.

"Who would want to save someone like him?"

Suddenly, there was a soft thud. Both Suna and Zero turned to see Mega Man, sleeping on the floor and snoring softly.

"Looks like the virus has worn off," Zero said. He turned to leave. "Please give him a glass of warm milk when he awakens."

(!)

Sergeant Night propped Elec Man against a wall when he returned to his lair. "Pathetic."

In his mind, Elec Man was tripping out. "It's been so long...how many years...how many decades have come and gone since he...no, long than that...it's been centuries! I know this much: an eternity has passed. When will it end? When will the pain in my chest finally stop? Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry! PLEASE! HURRY UP AND TERMINATE ME!" Finally, the virus wore off and Elec Man's body collapsed onto the floor.

Sergeant Night shook his head. "Only one scientist is capable of creating such a virus." He smirked. "Now it makes sense. Why Zero targets both human criminals and robots. How long has it been, Ciel?"

(!)

"He just disappeared?" Zero's mother asked when he got back home.

"Indeed," he responded as he took off his armor. "The virus hadn't even worn off yet. Somebody saved him."

"It wouldn't have mattered," the blonde woman said as she typed on her iPad. "The virus would have worn off by now and by that point, his brain would have finally caught up with his body and then shut down." She frowned. "Still, I am concerned about who would have saved him."

"Do you have any suspects?" Zero stepped into the chamber and allowed the wires and tubes to connect to his body.

"No." Zero's mother typed a few buttons down. "For now, get some rest. I'll look into it."


	10. Chapter 10

"Ah, good," Zero's mother said after her son woke from the chamber. "You're up. I have a new mission for you, son."

Zero sighed. "I just woke up after fighting Elec Man. What more is there?"

His mother sighed. "I know. Being what we are, sometimes it feels like there's no rest. Which is why these tablets I take," she held out some pink and blue pills. "Makes my micro-sleep feel like a full eight hours. But that's not why I called you. It seems the former science teacher, Mr. NRT..."

"You mean, Chemistry Man?" Zero interrupted.

His mother made a face. "Yes. Chemistry Man. Anyway, he's been spotted, and heading for the art museum."

"Why would he go there?" Zero asked as he put on his armor.

"Because, a new Mega Man art exhibition is taking place there."

"Sounds like that slow bot wants to hurt the Blue Bomber's ego."

"Exactly. And he's going to hurt people in the process. I need you to go there and stop him before he turns the museum into a...a...a who knows what."

"Very well."

(!)

"Uh, excuse me, I need to see your ticket ple-eAAAASE!" The guy at the ticket booth screamed as Zero tossed him aside and entered the museum and entered the gallery containing Mega Man artwork. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary...other than the fact that he was surrounded by Mega Man.

"Well, other than the fact that there's enough ego in here to give Sigmund Freud a run for his money," Zero said as he ignored the looks of shock and admiration from the art patrons. "There's nothing wrong here."

"Keep looking," his mother said in his communicator. "I saw security footage of Chemistry Man entering the building."

"On it."

"Hey," he heard a familiar voice say. It was Aki Light, accompanied with a teenage girl with green hair and wearing a red shirt with a pair of red framed glasses, a yellow star on it, green fingerless gloves, black pants and black shoes. "What do you think you're doing here? This is a Mega Man exhibit. And you're not invited."

"Stove it, kid. I'm not here to admire the...artwork." He glanced at some of the...over-exaggerated features of some of the paintings. "I'm here because Chemistry Man was spotted coming in here."

"Chemistry Man? Impossible. I would...I mean, Mega Man would know if he did."

"Obviously, you're not using your brain," the girl said. "If Zero is here, then clearly something is wrong. But," she pointed at Zero. "I also know you don't use your brain."

"Excuse me? Oh, please don't tell me you're one of those who thinks Mega Man is right."

"It's more than that. You think all your problems can be solved with a sword and a gun."

"I strategize," Zero argued. "I have a brain."

"Oh, please, Ashley," Aki Light said to the girl. "This guy never learns anything. He's stuck on his 'death to criminals' schtick."

"If I have to repeat myself one more time..."

"Listen," Ashley said. "You do have brains and you do plan, but not all your problems can be solved with weapons. Have you considered using logic to solve your problems?"

"Logic won't put down my enemies permanently."

"I'm not asking you to do that! I'm asking you to at least think before you start slicing up people."

Suddenly, there was a loud yell and everyone in the room started bouncing around. "Must be some kind of immersive postmodern work of social relevancy," Aki observed.

"You aren't just making noises to sound smart now," Ashley snaked.

Suddenly, the floors and walls turned purple and Ashley, Aki and Zero found themselves bouncing up and down like they were on a trampoline. "Oh, no," Ashley exclaimed. "It's some sort of self-replicating super bouncy nano chemical!"

"Misguided attendees of the first annual Silicon City Pop Art-A-Palooza," a familiar voice droned through the speakers placed around the room. "Now that I have your attention, allow to introduce. Myself." A hologram of a familiar former science teacher appeared.

"Chemistry Man," exclaimed Aki.

"Chemistry. Man," the hologram finished.

"Told you," said Zero.

"Today," Chemistry Man said. "I rise. To prove my mental might over the. Lead heads of Silicon City."

"Mom," Zero said to his communicator. "Can you find this guy?"

"Sensors jammed," she said. "I can't find him."

"Look out!" Ashley called out. Zero and Aki looked to see a robot bouncing helplessly right at them. They both bounced out of the way just in time. "Let the Good Guild know we're under attack, Aki!"

"Yeah! Good idea!" Aki bounced away to find the Good Guild.

"So," Zero asked Ashley. "What's your relationship with him?"

"I'm his chemistry tutor. What's it to you?"

"Curious."

Suddenly, Mega Man appeared just as Chemistry Man let out an announcement, "And so, I have come to this. Den of delusion with a dose of reality."

"Mr. NRT," Zero called out. "It's clear to me you haven't learned your lesson. And you call yourself a scientist."

"Mega Man and Zero," Chemistry Man with a glint of hate. "You metallic misanthropes. Derive answers to three clues and the city will be saved."

The red cyborg was confused. "Wait. Are you challenging me to a riddle game?"

"No," Mega Man shouted, pushing him out the way. "He's challenging _me_!"

"Hidden in this locale is. My nano chemical transmutator. Find it, reverse the rubberization process." The hologram turned off.

"We didn't even get the first clue," Zero said. "Hey, where are you going?" He saw that Mega Man was bouncing away down a hall. Zero followed him. Mega Man came to a stop when another hologram of Chemistry Man appeared along with a chemical blueprint. "Tall and small, played and displayed," he said. "Both heroes and villains all. Are made."

Zero tilted his head. "I'm not good at riddle games. Mom?"

"Pfft," she said through the communicator. "The answer is-" All that came next was static.

"Mom?"

"No cheating, Zero," Chemistry Man said. "I have. Cut off all communication signals. You'll get no outside. Help."

Zero growled. "Darn it."

"Great," Mega Man said. "Even you cannot help us."

"Forget about it, kid," Mega Mini's voice said. "We need to solve this riddle."

"'We'? Can't you just do some computer wamma jamma?"

Mega Mini made a face. "'Wamma jamma'? Is that what you think I do?" He got serious, "Look, I only got what you put in here, your head. You don't study, I don't wamma jamma!"

Suddenly, Ashley came out of nowhere. "Aki? Where are you?" Then she saw the blueprint. "Hey! That's polyvinyl chloride!"

Chemistry Man made a growl. "Great Caesium's ghost! Someone got lucky! My next one will stump your remedial positronic brain, Mega Man!" He disappeared.

"Well, well," Zero said. "Looks like a citizen here can be of some use here."

"Actually, Zero, I'm looking for my wayward student. Boy robot, about Mega Man's height, dazed look on his face."

"Didn't you send him to the Good Guild for help."

Ashley face palmed. "Right."

"Look, Chemistry Man is dangerous," Mega Man said. "And we don't need you," he pointed to Zero. "stabbing another chemistry teacher! Just go and let me do my thing, both of you!" The Blue Bomber bounced away to find another hologram of the mad former science teacher who said sarcastically, "Holy hydrogen, the the boy bot got further than I thought. This should stop you." He displayed a new chemical blueprint. "What is the unseen protector of which no one sees. I battle whining and bumbling. Things."

Oh, boy. He was right. Mega Man was stumped. "Uh...chlorine mano...no-thanks-athine?"

Mega Mini said in his head, "Hey, you gotta take this seriously! Try. The clue is in the details."

"Polyethylene terephthalate," Ashley called out, having caught up with Mega Man.

Chemistry Man let out a yell of anger and disappeared. Mega Man glared at ashley. "How'd you get here?"

"Brains. And someone has to keep an eye on him," Ashley pointed to Zero.

Suddenly, the whole building turned rubber. Which meant the columns were too! They began to wobble under the weight of the roof.

"Mega Man, turn into ice mode," Zero shouted. "It will freeze the rubber!"

"I knew that! I was gonna do that!"

"No you weren't," Mega Mini said.

"Shut up. Activate Ice Man schematics!" Mega Man turned into Ice Man's colors and his buster cannon turned into an ice gun. He fired at the columns and the floor, finally giving himself, Zero and Ashley stable ground. "Finally," Zero said. "I was beginning to think they were going to have to turn this place into a trampoline park."

"Unfortunately," Ashley said. "They're super brittle now and will collapse if we don't solve the last clue quickly."

"We?" asked Mega Man. "There's no 'we'. There's me telling you to leave and let me handle it! OOF!" A punch from Zero knocked him out cold.

"Don't listen to him," he said. "We clearly need you. Even if a certain Blue Bomber is too _stubborn_ to admit it."

"No," Ashley said. "It's okay. I know when I'm not wanted." She turned to leave but was stopped when Mega Man said, "Wait. I'm sorry." She stopped. "I'm in over my head. I could really use the help if you're willing." She smiled.

(!)

"Last clue guys," Zero said, pointing to the hologram of Chemistry Man. "Get your brain ready, Ashley."

"There's no accounting for taste for what your money buys," the hologram said, making a new chemical blueprint. "But-"

"Polyurethane," Ashley said, smugly.

"Holy helium," Chemistry Man exclaimed. "At least let me finish my rhyme!" Then the hologram disappeared.

"Looks like we found someone as smart as you, Mr. NRT," Zero said.

"Still doesn't give us the location of the transmuter," Ashley said.

"Wait, all these chemicals are all part of one puzzle, right?"

Ashley looked at her phone and listed the chemicals Chemistry Man showed. "Polyvinyl chloride or PVC, polyethylene terephthalate or mylar and polyurethane or spandex."

"Spandex?" asked Zero. "Like in bike shorts?"

"Gross, but yes. But that's not the answer."

"Well, the only similarity is that they're all forms of rubber. What? I take science lessons, too."

"Wait a minute," Mega Man exclaimed. "PVC, mylar and spandex?"

"What about it?" asked Ashley.

"The answer to the first riddle," Mega Man said, putting it all together. "Tall and small, played and display, both heroes and villains all! Action figures! They're PVC!" Then it all fit. "And comic bags are made of mylar! Unseen protectors!"

"Aki has a lot of junk like that in his room!"

"So, we're looking for something that children like," Zero said. "Something that has to do with toys and comics."

"And you were onto something about the bike shorts," Mega Man said. "Heroes were tights made of spandex! The transmutator is molded in PVC, encased in mylar and wearing spandex!"

"Ew."

"That's it," exclaimed Ashley. "Come on!"

(!)

The three approached the statue of Mega Man. "There it is, in plain sight," said Ashley.

"That's messed up," Mega Man said. "Turning Mega Me into a Mega Mess? Seriously? And PS, I do not wear spandex!"

"Could have fooled me," Zero laughed. Then he got serious and jumped into the air, took out his sword and sliced the statue in half. Both halves fell to the ground, exposing Chemistry Man and destroying the transmutator. As the museum returned to normal, Zero charged at Chemistry Man, only to find himself bouncing off a force field and landing on his back.

"A force field," exclaimed Mega Man. "Ideas?"

"Uh...electricity?" Ashely asked sarcastically.

"Right. Activate Elec Man schematics!" Switching to Elec Man's colors and weapon, Mega Man fired a bolt of electricity at the force field, popping it and before he knew it, it was Chemistry Man's turn to bounce. He got back up and said, "You choreographed dim-headed-"

SLICE!

He stopped, his face frozen in shock. Then his eyes dimmed and his lifeline shut down. Zero pulled the sword out of his stomach and tipped him over. "I was getting tired of hearing his banter."

Ashley approached Chemistry Man's body and patted his head. "Poor guy."

"If only he learned a lesson or two."

"Did you?"

Zero turned to her. "What?"

"Did you learn anything?"

"Besides new words for rubber?"

"That you can use your brain instead of your sword?"

Zero sheathed the sword. "Sure. I did help to solve the riddle, didn't I?

Mega Man shouted, "No! You still did it! Stabbed your opponent again like some war machine!"

"I think he is more than that," Ashley said. "You did help us out. No war machine can learn what polyurethane is."

"Yeah, blame my Mom for being a scientist." Suddenly, he remembered something. "Oh, crud!" He turned on the communicator in his ear. "Mom?"

"Hello? Zero?!"

Zero sighed. "Thank goodness."

Mega Man tilted his head. "Mom? I always thought you live in a mad scientist's lab." Zero punched him in the face.

"For what it's worth, I do believe your cause is just, if misguided," Ashley said. "Maybe...if you were given a second chance, maybe you could learn to be more like Mega Man."

Zero scoffed, "It'll take a miracle for that to happen." before leaving the building.


	11. Chapter 11

As Zero's mother typed into her computer, she watched as her son returned. "Back from your morning jog?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Well, you can relax. No crimes have been reported yet."

"Will do." Zero stripped himself of his armor, got into his chamber, allowed the tubes and wires to connect to his body and turned on the TV to watch some cartoons.

His mother just chuckled and shook her head. "Ah, son. To be young again." While she was doing computer work, she came across a broadcast coming from her pad computer. "Hmm? What's this? Is someone using an old signal?" She typed a few buttons. "Funny, I haven't seen a signal like this since the Hard Times. I wonder if..." She coordinated the source of the signal and her eyes widened when she saw where the signal was coming from: Silicon City Park. "But...but that's where..."

Maybe it would be best to send in Zero again. She looked to her son, still watching cartoons. Actually, she thought, maybe she should give him a break. "Hey, son? I'm going out for groceries! Watch the lab, will you?"

"Sure, Mom!"

(!)

When the woman entered the park, she took out a device resembling a geiger counter and began to scan the area. "The source of the signal is somewhere near here." The clicking sound from the geiger counter got louder when she pointed it in a particular direction. Now she had to find the source. Suddenly, a loud explosion in the direction she was walking in. At that second, something blue came whizzing by her and hit a tree. "Mega Man?" It took a while for her to realize he had a deep scratch in his chest.

The Blue Bomber groaned and rubbed the back of his head. He turned to the woman and said with confusion, "Hey, aren't you Enzo's mother?"

"Uh...sure." She helped him up.

"Listen, citizen," Mega Man said. "You need to get out of here. There's a crazy wooden robot running around here. He thinks the Hard Times are still around."

"Yeah, well, there's a signal around here that's - did you say _wooden_ robot?"

At that moment, a large wooden ninja robot with logs for arms and legs and robotic joints burst out of the trees, armed with throwing stars made from tree leaves. His eyes shifted around before they locked onto Mega Man. "Now I have you, you traitor!"

"You see what I mean?" Mega Man asked. "Get out of here, ma'am!"

"Ma'am?" Wood Man then turned to face the woman. When he saw her, he let out a gasp. "Y-y-you! You're...you're Ciel!"

"Ciel? My name is - "

"Don't lie to me! Now it makes sense," the wooden ninja rambled. "The way he," he pointed to Mega Man. "Looks like a human, the reason why he obeys that girl! He's one of your humanoids, Ciel!"

"Humanoids?" questioned Mega Man. "Ciel? What are you talking about?"

"Enough, humanoid! I never got the chance to end you, Ciel, but I can erase that mistake here and now!" Now Wood Man targeted the woman and began throwing his ninja stars at her. Mega Man blocked them all using his buster cannon as a shield.

"I don't know what beef you have with this woman," he said, removing the stars from his arm. "But it's got nothing to do with her!"

"IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HER!" Wood Man took out a kunai throwing knife and tossed it at the woman, but Mega Man blocked it as well. "Run," he shouted.

She nodded and took off running. "Darn it, I never anticipated the source of the signal to be someone who would recognize me! I have to call Zero and - oh, that's right, he's sleeping!" Suddenly, a giant throwing star sliced throw the trees, cutting them all down like timber and headed straight for her. She ducked down just in time. Wood Man jumped onto a log and pointed a throwing knife at her. "Now you will pay for what you've done to the robots and your kind!"

Before he had a chance to stab her, Mega Man tackled him to the ground. "Leave her alone, man!"

"Get off me, traitor!" Wood Man punched him in the face, sending him onto his back. "Now, where was I?" But his target was gone. "No! I'll find you, I swear I'll find you!"

While this was going on, Suna, who was watching the whole fight with her Suna-Copter drone, was curious. "Ciel? Is that the name of Enzo's mother? Why is that crazy wood ninja bot after her? Maybe Principal HundredHundred will know."

(!)

At the school, Principal HundredHundred was doing paperwork when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hello, Principal HundredHundred? It's me, Suna! We're in trouble! Aki and I ran into a crazy wooden robot in the park!"

When he heard that particular trait, he felt a twinge of nostalgia and fear. "A _wooden_ robot? Are you okay?"

"Aki and I are safe. Mega Man's fighting him right now. Who is he?"

"The toughest soldier I've ever known and the most ruthless," the principal said grimly. "Wood Man. Stealth, speed, strength, Wood Man dominated the wars of the hard age. Against humans, he would never give up. Wood Man could never imagine peace between humans and robots. We lost touch with him during the last battle. I thought he was destroyed. If he's been alone in the forest for all this time, he may think we're still at war!"

"There's another thing," Suna said. "Wood Man is also chasing after a woman Mega Man ran into in the woods. He called her Ciel. Does that mean anything to you?"

When Principal HundredHundred heard that name, his mechanical heart dropped. "D-did you say Ciel?"

"Y-yeah. Why?"

"Suna, listen to me as your principal and as a veteran of the war! Find Aki and get out of the forest now!"

"What? Why? What's - "

"DO AS I SAY!"

"Okay, okay! I gotta go! I think I hear fighting sounds getting closer!" She hung up.

Principal HundredHundred hung up and sighed, his voice shaking. "Ciel. Of all people, I never thought I would have to hear your name again. I've got to call the Good Guild and let them know a war criminal is on the loose. But first." He dialed a number on the phone. "Hello, Dr. Light? Yes, it's me, old friend. Listen, I need to warn you something. It's Ciel. Your children met her."

(!)

The woman burst out of the forest, tumbled down a hill and landed face first onto the ground, dangerously close to the sidewalk. She quickly got up, ran across the street and ducked behind a dumpster. She panted heavily. "This is wrong. This is all wrong! None of this wouldn't be happening if I had just sent Zero!"

"Ciel!"

"Oh, no!"

Wood Man was standing in the middle of the square, looking around at the city in horror and disgust. Humans and robots were walking alongside each other. That could only mean one thing: the humans won and now robots were slaves. "I don't know how this happened, humans winning the war, but it doesn't matter! I will tear this city apart until only robots remain...and I will find you." He began launching ninja stars at the humans, making them hide behind mailboxes, newspaper boxes and cars. Other stars slashed the tires of cars, causing pile ups and crashes. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

"Wood Man!" Mega Man jumped in front of Wood Man and stretched out his arms, blocking him. "Stop! Please!"

"Get out of my way, child."

"There's been a misunderstanding! Listen to me! There is no war. The fighting between humans and robots is over."

Wood Man took another look to find both humans and robots hiding in fear. Fear of him. "So we lost," he growled.

"Nobody lost. In fact, everybody won after the Hard Age."

"How? What kind of a soldier are you?"

"I'm not a soldier, sir. I'm just a kid trying to do what's right and keep everyone safe." He turned his buster cannon into a normal arm, showing he had no intention of fighting anymore. Then he walked over to him. "If you trust me," he said, ignoring Mega Mini's protests. "I think you'll want the same thing."

Wood Man considered the blue robot's words, looked around at the humans and robots helping each other, then lowered his weapons and shook his hand. "That time you call the Hard Age," he said. "my war..."

"Ended years ago," Mega Man finished. "Life is great in Silicon City and everyone's welcome. Even you." To prove his point, Suna and Rush came running up to him and he gave them a hug.

But there was hesitation in Wood Man's eyes. "I...don't think I'm quite ready to live around this many humans. Or robots for that matter. I've been alone for too long."

"There must be something you dreamed of doing once the war was over."

Well, there was one thing.

(!)

Soon, there were advertisements all over the city. "Wood Man's Conservation Tours". This way, Wood Man can take baby steps and gain trust in both humans and robots. In this way, Wood Man can fight for what both he and Mega Man/Aki strive for: peace between humans and robots.

"Still," Suna said. "We still hadn't asked him who Ciel was. Or what these humanoids he was talking about are."

"I know," Aki said. "Mega Mini?"

"Uh...I can't. All information of this Ciel are classified. By Principal HundredHundred, Sergeant Breaker Night and Dr. Thomas Light."

"Dad? Maybe we can ask him."

"Forget it," Suna said. "I asked Principal HundredHundred about Ciel and he just told me to get out of the forest immediately. He sounded scared."

"Well, it can't hurt to try to ask dad, right?"

(!)

When Aki, Suna and Rush returned, Dr. Light was already making dinner. His back was turned toward them and he was slicing cucumbers. "Hello kids, I heard about your and Mega Man's encounter with Wood Man," he said. "That brought back bad memories. I saw many human troopers being brought down by him."

"Speaking of Wood Man," said Aki. "What do you know of someone named Ciel? Wood Man chased after a woman we know whom he called Ciel."

Dr. Light stopped. There was an uncomfortable aura coming from him as he said in a stern, low voice, "I don't know how you know that name, but I want you to not bring it up ever again. And if you see this woman again, call the Good Guild immediately."

This was not like him. Something bothered him. Terrified him. "Dad?" Suna asked. "Are you okay?"

He said nothing. Instead, he walked back to the lab, dinner left unprepared. "Order takeout." He said, slamming the door.

"Whoa," said Aki. "I've never seen him that mad in...ever!"

"Normally I would say let sleeping dogs lie, no offense, Rush," Suna said. "But I think we just got ourselves a mystery to solve." Aki nodded in agreement.

(!)

"I was getting worried, Mom," Zero said when the woman returned to the lab. "You were gone a long time. And where are the groceries?" His mother tossed him some bags of food at him.

"Here. Happy?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey sis," Aki said. "Have you found anything on...you-know-who?" He was careful not to say Ciel's name whenever their father was in the house. Right now he was in the lab, but he was being cautious. After seeing that outburst the last time Ciel's name was brought up, the Light children were not taking any chances, lest they make Dr. Light angry at them again.

Suna, who had been at the library all day, shook her head. "Nothing. I can't even find any newspapers, any newsreels, documentaries; anything on her or whatever these humanoids are."

"Darn." Aki said. "It's like she's a ghost or something."

"Aki, there's no such thing as ghosts," Mega Mini said. "It's not that she's haunting people. Someone's attempting to cover her up and those someones include your father."

"There's got to be someone who knows about the Hard Times as much as dad, Principal HundredHundred and Sergeant Night!" Aki said in frustration. Suddenly, he and Suna got the same idea in their heads. "Oh, no. No way."

"Well, he is obsessive over the Hard Times," pointed out Suna.

"No way! Forget it!"

"Then I guess we can forget about..." She turned to the lab door before finishing silently, "...about you-know-who."

Aki groaned. "Fine. Fine! We'll ask...guh," He gagged a little. "Peter Punkowski."

(!)

Aki felt disgusted as he and Suna approached the Punkowski house. "I can't believe I have to go to that snot wad's house. Am I that desperate?"

"Aki," Suna scolded. "You know we have no other choice."

"Ugh. Fine." The robot boy knocked on the door. A blonde woman wearing a blue and white dress and red rimmed glasses, obviously Peter's mother, opened the door. "Hello?" she asked in a high pitched voice. It wasn't as nasally as Peter's and it wasn't as annoying.

"Uh, hi, Mrs. Punkowski," Aki said. "Is Peter home?"

"No, he just left."

"Left? For what?"

"A new ice cream store that opened down the block. Sweet Licks Frozen Treats, or something."

"Hey, I know that place," Suna said. "Didn't it close months ago?"

"Yeah," said Aki. "Must be under new management."

"I guess we'll meet him there."

Aki made a disgusted face. "Great. Now I'm gonna get snot all over my ice cream."

(!)

The Light siblings arrived at the ice cream store, finding the place to be refurbished and renovated. A statue of the new mascot was in front of the store. It used to be a blue robot with a yellow cylindrical head, but now, it was a clown with a blue and white shirt, pink floppy shoes, purple and pink baggy pants, a frilly snowflake collar and an ice cream cone for a hat.

"This place really is under new management," Aki said. "I barely recognize it."

"And Peter's in there," said Suna. "Come on."

"Yeah, you know what? You go. I'll just wait when you...give me an ice cream."

Suna groaned. "Fine. I'll be back." She slammed the door behind her as she entered the ice cream store.

"I could go for a chocolate fudge swirly," Mega Mini said.

"Why would you?" asked Aki. "You're a robot. You don't have a digestive system."

"Hey, a bot can dream can he?"

(!)

Aki waited on the sidewalk for five minutes, but Suna didn't come out. "What's taking her so long?"

"There must be a line in there," Mega Mini said.

"What line? I didn't see a line. I have a feeling something bad happened in there."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is bound to be a line in the building."

"Still, better Meganize me just to be sure." Mega Mini activated the transformation, and Aki Light was coated in a blue armor and helmet and his left hand turned into the buster cannon, finishing the transformation into Mega Man.

"You're here, too?" Mega Man gasped. Did someone see him transform? He turned to the right. It was Zero. "I didn't even see you, kid." Phew. He didn't see him. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Oh, uh," Mega Man said, looking for an excuse. "Just getting some ice cream."

Zero turned to face the ice cream store. "Funny. My mom sent me here. Something about a missing persons case."

"'Missing persons'?" asked Mega Man.

"A bunch of kids went into this store, never came out. They're not answering their phones, not responding to any texts, not sending any messages. It's like they just disappeared the moment they stepped into this store."

That made Mega Man's heart jump. "Suna!" He charged into the store, expecting to find a big bad robot holding people hostage...but instead, he found a derelict ice cream pub. "Huh. This place looked better on the outside."

Zero entered the building. "I think that's the idea. This whole place is a trap."

"A trap?" asked Mega Man. "Who would want to turn an ice cream factory into a trap?"

The sound of muffled shouts and laughter coming from a door caught their attention. Zero took the lead and carefully opened the door. He shuddered. The knob was cold to the touch. Gun at the ready, he entered what looked like a giant refrigerator. It was completely empty save for a circle of chairs with tubes connected to them. "I don't like this," Mega Man said. He sniffed the air. "Hey, do you smell strawberries?"

"Yeah."

The muffled shouting was heard again and it was at this point that Zero and Mega Man realized there were children sitting on the chairs and the tubes were in their mouths. And the tubes were sticking in their mouths feeding multicolored fluids. Zero and Mega Man realized the fluids were actually melted ice cream. When Mega Man saw Suna, he immediately ran toward her and popped the tube out her mouth. "Suna! Are you okay?"

"Ice...cream..." she gurgled. Her face turned green. "Oop! I think I'm gonna be sick!"

"And I thought you overeating Guts Man's ice cream was bad," Mega Man said as he freed her.

"Please," she burped. "Don't mention ice cream again. EVER."

"Who did this to you," Zero asked as he freed the other kids.

His answer came in the form of the sound of footsteps. Approaching them was a rather tall robot with very long legs and wearing pink and white armor resembling an ice cream vendor's uniform. In his hands was a huge wand resembling an ice cream cone with chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors and a cherry on top. He had markings around his eyes resembling snowflakes and a red nose resembling a cherry. He said in a goofy voice, "Ice cream, come out everyone! Come on! Get your ice cream here! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"That's who!" Peter Punkowski said.

"Oh, man, I freaking hate clowns," Zero said, taking note of the robot master's appearance.

"Come on out, everyone!" the ice cream themed Robot Master called out. Then he spotted Zero and Mega Man. "Hey, down there, little fellas!"

Zero said with a deadpan expression, "We gotta go." He freed a couple more kids, but was stopped by a long leg. "Now what flavor would you like, young man? Because I got more flavors back in the car!"

"Like you're going to give me ice cream in a moment like this. And I am _not_ getting in your car."

"All right," Mega Man said. "What's the big idea, forcing these kids to eat this ice cream?"

The ice cream man squinted at Mega Man, then his cheery demeanor was gone. "Wait. Mega Man. Mega. Man. Oh, I heard of you!"

"Oh, this never ends well."

"It's because of your type that I lost my job!" The ice cream robot shouted. "The establishment forced me to retire after parents complained! 'Oh, my son's getting fat because of your ice cream! Why can't you sell ice cream that's high in protein and low in fat?' And then they replaced me with someone who did just that! Feh! They want healthy ice cream? They're gonna get it when I, Ice Cream Man, cram it all down their throats till they explode!"

"That's a poor way to sell your products," Zero said, pointing his sword at him.

"How about a little ice cream, Zero?!" The ice cream wand in the robot's hand turned into a bazooka-like gun and fired a ball of ice cream at the heroes. They dodged it, and gasped when it made a dent in the floor. "How is ice cream hard as a rock?!" Mega Man gasped.

"He must have frozen it to the point where they're hard as a glacier!" Mega Mini exclaimed after analyzing them.

Ice Cream Man fired another barrage of ice cream, making the two heroes take cover. Then he fired into air, making the hard ice cream rain down. A few stray shots nearly hit the kids, but Zero and Mega Man saved them from being hit. "Get out of here," Zero said to the kids.

"But-but-but," Suna was about to say, but Zero forced her out the door with the other kids and slammed it.

"Now it's just you and me," Ice Cream Man said, kicking Mega Man in the face.

"Time to melt this popsicle stand," Mega Man said as he got back up. "Activate Fire Man schematics!" His colors changed from blue to red and his buster cannon turned into the flame thrower. When Ice Cream Man fired another shot at him, he easily melted it down with his fire attacks.

Zero tried to jump onto the tall ice cream robot's back, but was slapped away by his ice cream cone wand. Zero got back up and charged at Ice Cream Man, slicing apart any ice cream shots fired at him. Then he used his sword to slice the robot master's legs. Ice Cream Man screamed as he fell and landed on his face.

"Dude," Mega Man shouted. "Is there anyway you can solve our problems without..." He noticed something odd about the legs. "Wait. Are they...made of wood?"

"Exactly," Zero said. "This guy isn't tall. He's just walking on stilts. What's more," he said, pausing as he picked up the man. "When do robots bleed?" He wiped a trickle of blood off the robot's face. Scratch that, it wasn't a robot.

"He's a human?" exclaimed Mega Man.

"Of course I am a human," Ice Cream Man shouted. "Could a robot create ice cream as perfect as I did? But nooooo! Apparently, a robot is more than capable of making ice cream. And one that doesn't make kids fat! You robots," he pointed to Mega Man. "All you ever do is replace humans and take all the good jobs from hardworking humans like us! And you," he pointed to Zero. "You claim to be someone who fights for robots and humans? And by how? Slicing and dicing every human and robot you come across? You're nothing but a war machine!" Zero punched him, sending him flying into a wall.

Ice Cream Man got back up and shouted, "Oh, Zero! You're going to try all my flavors!" He picked up an ice cream ball and tossed it at Zero. He dodged it, but got a surprise in the form of Ice Cream Man charging at him with the ice cream cone wand. He grabbed the mad ice cream salesman by the wrist and flung him...into a tank of liquid nitrogen.

Ice Cream Man let out a scream as the chemicals coated him. He slowly got up and tried to reach for Zero, but his movements began slow and stiffen. He shivered, "You scream...I...scream...we all...scream for...ice cream..." His voice silenced as he froze solid. After that, Zero nonchalantly walked up to him, placed his foot on Ice Cream Man's head and pushed him back. His body shattered into a million pieces upon falling onto the floor. Zero chuckled, "That really cracked me up."

Mega Man just stood there, shocked. Zero killed...a human being. It was bad enough Zero put robots offline, but...this was a human. He shouldn't have been surprised; after all, he saw him threaten Sergeant Breaker Night's life on their first encounter. And yet, to actually see him kill a human and then make a joke about it... For the first time, Mega Man was afraid of Zero.

(!)

"So...I'm just gonna pretend that I didn't see that," Suna said as she and the other children left the building along with Mega Man and Zero. "And I'm gonna go home, get me a tall glass of apple juice, and...and..." She felt her stomach growl and her face turned green. "Oh, gosh! I can't..." She ran to a nearby trashcan and vomited loudly. When she was done, she looked up, her face still green. "Why did we even come here in the first place, Mega Man?" She went back to vomiting.

"Just let it all out," Zero said, patting her back. "Any way, my mission's accomplished. See you...whenever." He took off running, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as he returned home.

Mega Man's eyes perked up, finally remembering who they were looking for. "Oh! That's right! Peter, I need you to..." But Peter had fallen into a food coma and was passed out on the ground. "Oh, great, the one person we need (and my least favorite person) is currently passed out! Well, there is one plus side."

"What's that?" asked Mega Mini.

"I think this is the first time I like his company. Him, quiet, asleep, not talking in that whiny voice."

"Still, we're going to have to ask him when he wakes up."

"That's what I hate the most."

(!)

 **Ice Cream Man is my OC Robot Master. Don't steal him.**


	13. Chapter 13

It was another normal day for Silicon City. Mega Man was fighting Fire Man. Again. And once again, Zero arrived to badly cripple his arms, much to Mega Man's displeasure. He had not gotten over Zero killing Ice Cream Man a couple of days ago, and he had nightmares about it for a while.

"When are you going to learn, match stick," Zero asked Fire Man. Fire Man took one look at him and took off running. "Come back here!" Zero took after him, but was tackled by Mega Man.

"Leave. Him. Alone."

Zero pushed him off. "Are you still worked up over that ice cream vendor gone crazy? I told you, there must be exceptions!"

"I didn't think...you had it in you," Mega Man said in a shuddering voice. Enough was enough. He had to get to the point of it. "Who is she? Who is Ciel?"

Zero felt his heart jump for a moment. "What do you-"

"Don't try to talk your way out of it! Dr. Light saw you explode and being rescued by Ciel! It was the day I accidentally used Hypno Woman's powers on you." He let out a grunt. "I wish it was a little longer."

Zero didn't say anything. "I don't know any Ciel, Mega Man." He turned to leave. "I suggest you go home. We're done today." He took off running.

"Wait!" Mega Man chased after him, but he was gone. He let out a loud grunt of frustration. "Why is nobody telling me what I want?"

"Take it easy kid," Mega Mini said. "Zero is not one to cooperate with you."

"I know, but...ah, I wish I knew what's so terrible about Ciel that everyone covered her up!"

"Well, good news, Peter Punkowski is out of his food coma, so you and Suna can ask him any time."

Mega Man sighed. "Sadly, you're right about that."

(!)

In his lair, Sergeant Night watched the footage of Mega Man and Zero fighting Fire Man. Fire Man himself was there with him. He was wearing a sort of cast around his arms; a special kind of nanotechnology that repairs robots. "I'm sick of those two brats handing me my back burner on a plate," he shouted.

"And yet you keep letting it happen," Night countered. "Four times! One would think you enjoyed it."

"Yeah, well I'm starting to think you enjoy watching us take all the licks while you sit here safe and sound in your creepy fortress!"

Sergeant Night stood up. "You doubt me?" He walked up to Fire Man and got up in his face. "Don't think I'm worthy of loyalty?!" Fire Man backed away. "Hmm. Allow me to set your mind at ease."

Fire Man gulped.

"It's time."

(!)

Back in Zero's mother's lab, the woman was watching TV with her son. They were watching the Unity Day festival, a celebration marking the end of the Hard Times and the first time humans and robots coexisted. And apparently, Mega Man was going to be the key speaker at the band shell where the rally was taking place.

"I just hope he gives you some credit for helping him," Zero's mother said. "That kid's big head can barely fit his helmet. It will get bigger now that he's the speaker."

"He's still angry, you know," her said to her.

"Is he now?"

"Apparently, he did not think I really had it in me to take a human's life."

Zero's mother huffed. "He should have known better. We don't make idle threats when it comes to coexistence."

"He asked you your name today." His mother paused. "Do you think Dr. Light-"

"No. I am 'classified' by those who fought in the Hard Times. They wouldn't tell the new generation about me." She sighed sadly. "It's like I don't exist anymore. Hypocritical, isn't it? Those who want peace and teach the new generation about the past so they won't make the same mistakes are too afraid of what I had done. They think that someone would repeat what I had done."

Zero looked at her, confused. "The humanoids?"

His mother nodded. "And I did it to save lives."

"Here he comes now."

(!)

Mega Man walked onto the podium and tapped the microphone. He was just about to make a speech when the screen behind him turned on, showing footage of him and Zero fighting the Robot Masters. "You're no hero, Mega Man," a deep voice said. "You're a traitor to your own kind."

Mega Man saw that the people were beginning to panic. "It's all right, everyone! I got this!"

"What you got," the deep voice said. "Is a vendetta against other robots. Deplorable."

(!)

"Out of context," Zero's mother said. "That does look pretty bad." There was silence. "Son? Zero?" He was gone. "What does he think he's doing?! I did not order him to leave! Where does he think he's going?" When she heard the deep voice speak again, she knew at once where he was going.

(!)

"Symbol of unity? Ha!" laughed the deep voice. "Cheering for the humans, Mega Man? Or just so insecure that you have to take it out on the whole species?"

"I stopped those robots because they were out to hurt people! Robots _and_ humans! If you're anything like them-"

"-I'll stop you." Everyone gasped. Zero slowly walked through the crowd as they parted to let him through. He jumped onto the stage and took out his sword.

"Zero..." the deep voice said. There was a hint of venom in his voice. "You are the worst of them all. You claim to fight for humans and robots? And yet you terminate their lives without mercy." The footage then changed to footage of Zero destroying the enemies he and Mega Man fought. "Look at yourself! You slaughter everyone in your path!"

"I fight for peace! But for that peace to be obtained, there must be exceptions! Humans _and_ robots who cannot be redeemed must be terminated."

Suddenly, the footage was replaced with live footage of a silver and black robot with yellow eyes and glowing yellow lines on the right side of his body, a pointed chin and a mustache. "Oh? And what if those robots and humans could be redeemed but you didn't give them the chance? You are no peace keeper. You're an assassin!"

"I've already heard that from Mega Man and Dr. Light. I don't need to hear it from a robot who thinks he's better than anyone else."

"And you think you're better, cyborg? Look around you!" Zero turned to face the crowd, and saw the looks of unease on their faces. "Do you honestly believe that anyone would rally with you? Knowing you can easily take the lives of both humans and robots?"

"And you think they will rally with you?"

"Shut up!" shouted Mega Man. "This is _my_ fight! Not yours, Zero!" He turned to the screen and pointed to the robot. "And I will stop you!"

"If you're half the hero you say you are, face me in combat! Robot to robot."

"Say when and where tough guy!"

"Wait for my signal. Prepare to be crushed. And Zero?" Zero faced the screen. "You'll see the fruits of your labors when the people fear you as the menace you are."

Then, one small boy spoke up, "He's no menace!" Everyone turned to face him. "Zero saved me from being lost in a funhouse and after that, he saved me and my friends from a clown robot!"

"That's right," a man in the crowd shouted. "He even saved my son and his robot friend from freezing to death by an ice skating robot!"

"And he saved me," a voice Mega Man regretfully recognized as Peter Punkowski's. "from a crazy ice cream vendor!"

"Well," Suna said with a hint of hesitation. "He did stop Elec Man from shortening your life, Mega Man."

Mega Man was hurt. Even Suna came to believe that Zero's actions were heroic.

"He's not afraid of you," the boy who shouted earlier shouted. "He will stop you! We believe in you, Zero!" Soon, everyone was agreeing with him.

"Well," the deep voiced robot said. "It seems the people think you are the hero, Zero. Very well. I challenge the both of you to combat. We'll see who is right." The footage shut off. Mega Man and Zero faced the crowd, who at this point were cheering both their names.

"Why are you cheering him?!" Mega Man shouted. "Did you forget that in order to save your lives, he took the lives of those who harmed you?!" But no one was listening. He turned to face Zero, but he was gone.

(!)

Zero, alone on a rooftop far from the rally, got an earful when he heard from his mother on the communicator. "I did not order you to go to the rally! Why did you pull that little stunt?!"

"He was challenging Mega Man," Zero tried to reason. "He was about to do something rash. You said it yourself. His ego is already big, and he's clearly underestimating his new opponent. I figured he might need help."

"Well, your 'help' has dragged you into the fight! I have no data on this guy! There's no criminal records, no time of construction, no blueprint history, nothing! If you're going to fight this guy, I'm afraid you're on your own."

Zero sighed. What had he done?

(!)

At the Light House, Dr. Light was explaining to Aki what he and Suna had seen at the rally. "And then, just like that, the transmission ended. A gauntlet's thrown. Anyway," he said cheerfully. "you missed quite an afternoon. How's that seasonal malfunction doing?" That was the excuse Aki and Suna were using to keep Aki's life as Mega Man a secret.

"Oh, you know, just came and went," said Aki. "Like that lame-o bad guy."

"Oh, I don't know if 'lame-o' quite fits the impression he made."

"This guy meant business, Aki," Suna said. "Believe me. Mega Man and Zero could be in a lot of danger."

"But he's Mega Man," Aki said. He knew Suna was talking to him and he did not like his sister telling him things he already knew.

"And if he doesn't know what he's up against," his sister countered. "He can't form a strategy."

"Suna has a point," Dr. Light said. "The unknown can be vexing. Even for Mega Man and Zero. If I were either of them, I'd think twice before walking into what's obviously some kind of trap."

Aki groaned and got up from his chair. "Mega Man can take care of himself. And he sure as heck doesn't need Zero's help! And did you hear the way those idiots in the crowd cheered his name?!"

"I know, Aki," Dr. Light said softly. "I was there. I can't believe some of our own citizens approve Zero's actions. I know what the Good Guild and Mega Man do isn't enough, but destroying robots? Taking humans' lives? There's something Mega Man and I can definitely agree on. Taking people's lives isn't justice. It's a justification to use violence, no matter how noble."

(!)

It was late evening. Zero was walking down the street, occasionally acknowledging the words of encouragement coming from the citizens. His walk took him to the school, where he saw Principal HundredHundred reclining against the building. He hopped onto the roof and said, "What are you doing here, principal? School's over."

"Oh, Zero. I was just talking to Mega Man here." Mega Man was sitting on the giant principal's left shoulder, glaring at Zero. "I was teaching him, as a scholar and a veteran, that there are some battles that cannot be fought. Sometimes, you must decide whether you're fighting for your own personal gain or for what's right."

"Which is why I think you should step down, Mega Man," Zero said. "I saw your body language. You're not going to fight him for what's right, you're just trying to prove him wrong."

Mega Man hopped down from the principal's shoulder and marched up to Zero. "That's not true!"

"Why are you here then?"

"Why are _you_ here?!"

Zero pushed him away when he got too close. "For your information, I was on my evening jog. I didn't think I would run into you."

Suddenly, there was a loud beeping sound. Mega Mini shouted from his partner's head, "We're picking up a transmission! Looks like our new sparring buddy wasn't bluffing after all!"

"Thanks for the pep talk," Mega Man said to the giant principal. "I won't let you down!" He took off running toward the new signal's source. HundredHundred just watched with concern. "I have a feeling he didn't really listen."

"What did you expect," Zero said. "He's nothing but a little boy with an inflated ego, believing he has something to prove."

"And what about you? Do you have something to prove?" Zero remained silent. "It's not about right and wrong, it's more than that. You're also concerned about the people 'believing in you'. Sometimes, people believe you, but for the wrong reasons. What if it pops into their head that it's okay to be like you? What if they start destroying people they believe is doing wrong? Like a bully in a playground?"

"That's different than a fire breathing robot who tries to boil the town alive. And I fight so they don't." He looked in the direction Mega Man was going. "And right now, I have to stop this madness."

(!)

It was night when the two heroes reached the park, where the signal was coming from. Zero cursed himself, Mega Man had beat him to the mystery robot and was already talking to him. "I'm giving you a second chance," he said. "Walk away and maybe take back all those mean things you said about me and this can end."

But the robot just laughed. "I don't want your second chance, boy. I don't need one. I know who I am. Question is, who are you?" Suddenly, he lunged and tried to punch Mega Man's head off, but Mega Man ducked just in time and gave him an uppercut. The robot landed on his feet and swung fists at him, but Mega Man dodged them and fired his buster cannon at him. But the robot easily blocked all his attacks, then ran up to him, grabbed him by the buster cannon and tossed him to the ground.

The robot laughed as he pulled a pair of guns from his back and fired a bolt of black energy at him. His innards fried and Mega Mini was blown off his seat. "Oh, no," he said. "That's not good!"

"What...what is that thing?" Mega Man asked.

"I don't know, but stay away from it! That hit just put us down to twenty-five percent!"

"Activate Fire Man schematics!" Mega Man's color turned to red and silver and pointed the flame thrower at his opponent, but the robot fired again, reverting him back to his base form.

"The systems are shot, kid," Mega Mini yelled. "We ain't got enough power! You're gonna have to stick to the classics!" Then the robot put the guns away and turned his right hand into a giant flail. "Forget the classics! This guy's going medieval on us!"

"Then let me bring him up to date!" Mega Man charged at him, but the robot swung the flail, forcing him to back away. One lucky strike knocked him down, leaving himself vulnerable to the robot's kick. He was sent flying across the ground, scraping his paintwork. The robot was about to crush his head with his foot, only to yell out in pain. A green laser sword was impaling his foot.

"That's enough," Zero shouted as he pulled the sword out.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be far behind, Zero!" The red and black robot swung the flail, but became surprised when the red cyborg grabbed the flail's chain, tugged him toward him and punched him in the face. He landed on his back, giving Zero the chance to cut off the flail. The robot yelled in pain as he grabbed onto the stump.

"Get out of here, now," Zero shouted to Mega Man.

"No," the Blue Bomber groaned, trying to stand up. "I can...guh...handle him."

"Shut up! This isn't about your pride! You're hurt-" He was interrupted when the mystery robot grabbed him by the head and slowly began to crush him. Zero screamed; blood began to trickle down his head as he struggled to get out. Then it was the robot's turn to scream as he suddenly felt his hand be removed. Zero, having severing the hand, freed himself from its grasp. Then he turned to Mega Man, who was weakly pointed the buster cannon at the opponent. Zero saw no other choice. He ran away from the mystery robot and toward Mega Man. When he got close enough, he karate chopped his neck, knocking him out cold.

The Blue Bomber fell into Zero's arms and Zero was about to take off running when the mystery robot called out, "ZERO! This isn't over yet! I will have your head!"

Zero smirked. "Hello, Sergeant Breaker Night."

The robot stopped immediately. Then he shouted, "My name...is Lord Obsidian!" Then he sighed, "What gave it away?"

Zero pointed to his lips. "The mustache. That and your animosity toward me. So, is this your current guise? Aren't you being a little hypocritical, fighting with robots?"

Lord Obsidian, chuckled. "So what if you know who I am. It doesn't matter. Run. Help Mega Man. It will end the same: your cybernetics ripped from your body."

"Gloat while you can," Zero said, finally leaving with Mega Man.

Lord Obsidian looked down at his arms, then looked up when he heard a rustling sound. "Son, how long have you been there?"

A teenage-sized robot resembling Lord Obsidian but without the mustache came out of the bushes. "Long enough," he said in a voice that sounded an awful lot like Mega Man. "You should have let me help you."

"No," Obsidian said. "You saw how easily he dismembered me. Imagine what he could have done to a novice like you."

"But," the smaller robot said as he gathered Obsidian's arms. "It was two against one! Mega Man was down!"

"Enough! Just help me with my repairs when we get back."

The smaller robot said nothing as he watched Lord Obsidian leave the park, then followed him. "Father, may I ask you something? Why didn't you destroy Mega Man when you had the chance?"

"Destroying him wasn't the point. I let him live to feel weak. The weaker he feels, the easier it will be for him to join our cause."

"And Zero?"

"Zero has already gathered a following. To destroy him now will make him a martyr. No, we must eliminate him when everyone sees him the way I see him. A creation of Ciel."

(!)

In her room, Suna was asleep when she heard a loud knocking on her window. Yawning, she opened the window and let out a quick shriek when Zero burst into the room. "Zero? What are you..." Then she saw Mega Man in his arms. "Mega Man! What happened to him?!"

"He lost."

Suna looked up at him in horror. "No..."

"He's in critical condition right now."

"I have a lab dad doesn't know under the house. I'll take him there!" She ran out the room, clad in her pajamas with Mega Man over her shoulder.

Zero left after seeing them go. This was bad. Very bad. He barely escaped with his life, and now, he was sure his mother was going to put him through a lifetime of training now.


	14. Chapter 14

Dr. Light was working in his office late one night. He had heard of Mega Man being defeated by this new robot last night and he wasn't taking any chances. He armed himself with a gun he used during the Hard Age, something he wished he would never have to use again, and placed the Mega Key he always kept in his pocket in a safe. He wasn't going to let anyone steal this. Suddenly, he heard a knocking on the door. Gun at the ready, he steadily opened the door. Only to find a familiar red armored cyborg standing on his welcome mat.

"You have your gun ready," Zero pointed out. "That's a good thing."

"Zero? What are you doing here?"

"I'm your new bodyguard."

"Wait. What?"

"Yeah," the red cyborg said. "This is my punishment for fighting the robot who beat Mega Man against my mother's wishes." He pushed Dr. Light out of the way and sat down on the couch. "Comfy."

"Now, see here," Dr. Light said. "You can't just barge into my house unannounced and sit down in that couch like it's your own!"

"Well, apparently, Mom thinks I should stay here and watch your butt. Says she believes that mystery robot might be after something of yours."

"First of all, there's nothing in my lab that robot could possibly want. Secondly," he said with a sigh. "I think we should discuss your mother. I know who she is."

Zero gave him a confused look. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I know who your mother is," Dr. Light said sitting down. "I saw you getting dragged into a van by Ciel."

"Who? And what are you talking about?"

"You mean you don't remember? It was the day you exploded spontaneously."

"I think your brain is addled, because I did not - crud, I did. That was the day Mega Man thought it was a good idea to go around hypnotizing people. That was just a failsafe. In the event my mother cannot fight any form of mind control, I explode." Dr. Light was shocked when he heard that. "I had that same look, Light, when I found out. Especially after I complained to her. Now it just electrocutes me."

Dr. Light was aghast. "How could Ciel do this to her own son?!"

"Uh...Ciel isn't my mother's name. And it didn't hurt really."

"Don't lie to me. I know for a fact that Ciel is in Silicon City!" Zero hadn't seen Dr. Light this angry before. "And I know what she did to those people in the Hard Times! What she did to create the humanoids!"

"The what?"

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion coming from the living room. "Don't need me, huh?" Zero asked rhetorically.

(!)

Lord Obsidian smashed the door to the Light House down and walked into the living room. His eyes focused on one door: the door to the lab. He placed two bombs on it, then pressed the trigger. They exploded, but nothing happened. He figured as much. Suddenly, the sound of a gun cocking grabbed his attention.

"I don't know why you're here," Zero said, pointing the smoking gun at him. "But you've come at the worst time. I see you've got your arms back, too."

Lord Obsidian glared at him. "Zero."

"Whatever your problem is with me," Mega Man said, suddenly bursting into the room. "It has nothing to do with the Light family! Get out."

"Choosing humans over your own kind again?" Obsidian asked rhetorically. "How pathe- ARGH!" A green sword impaled him in the chest then was yanked out. Behind him was Zero, Z Saber in hand.

"Your fight is with me, 'Lord' Obsidian."

Obsidian growled at him. Then both fighters heard footsteps. They turned to see Suna and Rush run into the room. "You aren't the only one with a bag of tricks, Zero!" Obsidian yelled as he fired his gun at the girl. But before the bullet could reach her, it was blocked by a blue laser. But neither Mega Man nor Zero fired it. It was fired by Dr. Light and he was aiming his own gun at Obsidian. "You'll leave these premises if you know what's good for you!"

"And you, Dr. Light," Obsidian said. "If you know what's good for your family, you'll hand over the Mega Key."

That surprised Light. "How do you know about the Key?!"

"'Mega Key'?" asked Mega Man.

Obsidian fired the gun at him, forcing him to take cover. The rest of the Light family did the same while the robot was distracted. At that moment, Zero kicked the gun out of his hand and tried to cut him with the sword, but he dodged every blow. "What's this 'Mega Key' that this guy wants, doc?" Zero called out.

Obsidian grabbed his hand and lifted him up into the air. "Tell him, doctor," he called out. "Tell him how you use it to enslave robots!"

Mega Man turned to Dr. Light. "I would never use it to enslave robots," he shouted. Then he explained to Mega Man, Suna and Zero, "When working on malfunctioning robots, I use the Mega Key to access their programming. It gives the user total control. And in the wrong hands -"

" _Your_ hands _are_ the wrong hands, human," Obsidian shouted and he tossed Zero into a wall. Mega Man got a little closer to the mad robot, but hid behind an upturned table when Obsidian fired shots at him.

"Dr. Light would never take advantage of us!" He paused. "Would he?" There were a lot of things his father did not reveal and if he kept something like this "Mega Key" a secret, who knows what else he was hiding?

"Siding with humans again, traitor?" Obsidian asked as he turned his right hand into a flail. "Perhaps he's already used the Key. On YOU!" He swung the flail, forcing Mega Man to run, but it also left him vulnerable. Obsidian fired the gun at him, blasting him into a wall.

"I felt that one," Mega Mini groaned. Then he saw Mega Man's vitals were dropping dangerously low.

"Enough," Lord Obsidian shouted. "I'm leaving with the key and there's nothing you zeroes can do about it! No pun intended," he added as he blocked Zero's gun's lasers. Then he grabbed Zero by the head, lifted him up into the air and slammed his body on his knee. Zero let out an agonizing scream. "Heh. Too bad you aren't fully robotic. You could have recovered from that." He tossed Zero's body aside then began firing his guns at the lab's doors.

While he was preoccupied, Mega Man carried Zero over to where the Light family was hiding. Dr. Light turned to his family. "If we're going to stop this monster, we have to work as a team."

Mega Man agreed. "I'm not a traitor and I know neither are you."

While Mega Man went off to fight Lord Obsidian, Rush ran to grab Suna's drone controls and give it to her.

"It's deja vu all over again," the mad robot shouted. "Except this time, there's no one to save you!" Mega Man charged at him, but he swatted him aside and into Dr. Light.

"You gotta slow down," Mega Mini shouted. "You're still not at 100 percent!"

"You two are no match for me," Obsidian shouted, pointing his gun at at them. All of a sudden, the gun exploded in his hand, taking some of his fingers with it.

"But us four are!" Suna shouted as she controlled the drone to slam into his head. He fired at it, but it quickly dodged and swiped the gun out of his hand.

"Clever girl," he commended. "But not clever enough. Machines are my world." All of a sudden, the Sunacopter pointed the gun at her! Zero instantly knew it was under his control now somehow. Before it could fire the gun, Zero sliced it in half.

"This is your last chance, Obsidian," he shouted, pointing his sword at him. "Leave now, or die!"

"No...I will never die. But you, you're still human!" He pointed the gun at Zero. But then, he had another idea. He instead fired at Mega Man, only to have the dog take the full blunt and fall down, unconscious.

"RUSH!" Dr. Light and Suna called out. Mega Man ran to his side. Zero, meanwhile, began to attack Lord Obsidian with his sword. "You're losing and you take it out on an innocent dog?!" he shouted. "You have no honor, monster!"

" _I'm_ a monster? What about you," Lord Obsidian shouted as he blocked every attack. "You take the lives of robots and humans! You have done things far worse than I!" He found an opening and fired the gun point blank into Zero's chest. Zero was sent flying into a wall and fell flat on his face, but he didn't get up this time.

"ZERO!" shouted Mega Man. He ran to his side, but it was too late. Zero's eyes had dimmed and when Dr. Light checked for a pulse, he found nothing. Lord Obsidian laughed at the scene. "You're actually concerned about him? Why? He was a freak of nature and was against everything you stand for. There is no room for compassion in war," he said. "And I promise you, Mega Man, war is here!" He pointed his gun at him. "Give up! Hand over the key or your beloved humans are -" BANG! "ARGH!" He dropped the gun when a laser shot his hand clean off.

"Attacking someone when they are down," a woman's voice said. "How low have you sunk?" Everyone turned to find a woman with long blonde hair tied in a pony tail and wearing pink and red armor standing on an upturned couch. In her hand was a gun. Hers was a face everyone recognized.

"Enzo's mother?" gasped Suna and Mega Man.

"Ciel!" Dr. Light exclaimed. "What are you-"

"My son is in peril. What kind of mother would I be if I left him to die?"

Mega Man and Suna turned to Zero and it clicked. "Zero is Enzo?" asked Suna.

"You again," Lord Obsidian said as he reattached his hand. "I should have known. Only you can make a monster as ugly as this." He gestured to Zero's body. "You want to know the real villain of this story, Mega Man? Look no further! She made others just like her 'son'!"

"What are you talking about?" the Blue Bomber asked.

"Ask Dr. Light, why don't you. He'll tell you." He got a laser to the face courtesy of Ciel.

"Don't waste your breath. Mega Man, you deal with him. I'll take care of my son."

Mega Man, though confused, nodded. "Mini, new move time!"

"But, Boss, we never perfected it!"

"We got no choice. Let's do this for Rush and Zero!"

"Cross your bolts and hang tight! You got the green light!"

Ciel watched the battle as she tended to her son. It seemed Mega Man found a way to swap Robot Master schematics within seconds. He switched from Fire Man to Ice Man to Elec Man and used their attacks to send Lord Obsidian into a corner. "Impressive."

"Why, Ciel," Dr. Light said with a hint of venom. "Why did you come back?"

"I came for my son," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cube-shaped device. "I always look out for my family." She placed the cube in Zero's hole. Suna watched with amazement as the cube began to close up the wound. Not even a scar was left. Zero shot up with a gasp and panted heavily. "Good evening, son." He quickly turned to face her.

"Mom? What are you-"

"You died. I saved you. You're welcome. Now, I believe you have a fight to finish."

Zero nodded.

(!)

Mega Man continued to battle Lord Obsidian, but now his opponent could see the pattern. He can only use three Robot Master schematics at a time, and Lord Obsidian was beginning to counter all three of them. He was quick to adapt and ready to use Mega Man's attacks against him, but what he didn't count on was someone coming back from the dead. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see a green laser sword sticking out. The sword was pulled out of his chest and he fell onto his hands and knees. That's when Zero walked in front of him.

"WHAT?! How? I killed you!" That's when he remembered. "Of course. It was Ciel. She did it."

"My mother does work wonders, doesn't she?" Zero raised the sword and prepared to slice his opponent's head in half, but was stopped by Mega Man.

"It's over," he said. "He's beaten."

"Weak willed," Lord Obsidian coughed. "You care about these people too much."

"Caring about these people is what makes me strong," Mega Man said. "Together, nothing can stop us."

"Teamwork. Hmm, perhaps I'll give it a try."

At that moment, there was a loud whirring sound. Something landed between Zero and Mega Man and Lord Obsidian. It was a smaller robot resembling Lord Obsidian but without the mustache and its color was black and yellow. Dr. Light gasped when he saw him. At that moment, Lord Obsidian dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared along with the smaller robot.

Mega Man looked around, but found nothing. "What was -" A whimper made him remember something. "Rush!" He ran over to his side and patted his head. Rush weakly looked up at him. "Is there anything we can do to help him?" the Blue Bombe asked.

"There is," Ciel said, taking out another of those strange cubes. "This will help."

"No!" Dr. Light suddenly went on defense. "I won't have you tamper with my creations - Ooh!" He was kicked in the groin and fell to his knees. Ciel walked over to the dog. Suna tried to block her but was pushed aside by Zero. Mega Man tried to attack her, but suddenly felt weak.

"That Quick Switch Mode took a lot out of you, Chief," Mega Mini warned.

"Get...get away from him," Mega Man said weakly.

Ciel knelt before Rush and placed the cube on him. Instantly, the cube was absorbed into his body. Rush felt weird. Then, he started to feel stronger. All his injuries were gone. He got up, shook himself and ran over to his owner. Mega Man hugged him tight. "What was that," he asked.

"A gift. So you don't turn out like him," she gestured to Dr. Light. "Let's go, son." Zero nodded and walked with her out the door.

"Wait," Suna called out. "What was it that Dr. Light doesn't want us to know about? What are the humanoids?" But Ciel pressed a button on her gauntlet and both she and Zero disappeared in a flash of light. "Instantaneous teleportation?"

(!)

"Is he ready?" Aki asked the next morning.

Suna and Dr. Light smiled and motioned someone to come over. It was Rush. "He's been thoroughly checked," Dr. Light said. "No sign of malware or viruses. Plus, he's got a bonus."

"Bonus?"

Rush barked, then in a flash of light, he was wearing red armor and a matching helmet.

"What?! That is so cool! But how?"

"I happen to know an excellent doctor of robotics," Suna said with pride. Dr. Light smiled.

"Coolest dog ever!"

(!)

Meanwhile, back in his lair, Lord Obsidian groaned in pain as his repairs took place. "She's back. I always knew she would be back. I will have her. I will destroy her!"

His son, just watched. "What is it about Ciel that's so horrible."

"Later. Now leave, I have to finish repairs."

The smaller robot let out a groan of frustration before leaving.


	15. Chapter 15

Zero was in his pod, the tubes connecting to his body. It had been a few days since the attack on the Light House and he had been training nonstop for sometime. "Do you know what that Lord Obsidian...I mean, Breaker Night is planning?" he asked his mother.

Ciel was eating breakfast as she spoke. "All we can do now is theorize." She paused to take a sip of orange juice. "But I do have one logical theory. He plans to use the Mega Key to enslave all robots, make them attack humans and make the humans fight the robots, starting another Hard Times. It would make Dr. Light look like he is wrong."

"That _does_ sound logical. We both know Night hates Thomas."

"Indeed." She checked her son's schematics. "Anyway, it looks like your vitals are okay. Perhaps now would be a good time to go on your mourning routine."

"Okay, mom."

(!)

As Zero was on his mourning routine, running and hopping across rooftops, he stopped when he saw something red fly by. At first he thought it was a red drone, but when it got closer, he was shocked to see it was Rush with Mega Man flying on his back. "What the-?"

"Looks like my nanites fixed him well," Ciel said over the communicator. "And Dr. Light gave him upgrades."

"I see."

"Oop. Heads up. House fire across town."

"On it."

(!)

By the time Zero finished rescuing all the people in the burning building, Mega Man and Rush had arrived. "Oh, man," the former said, disappointed. "I was gonna rescue them."

"Too late. But you can help me put out the fires."

"Better switch to Wave Man schematics."

"No can do, chief," Mega Mini said. "We got Hypno, Air and Fire today. That last one is probably not very useful."

"We gotta jet back home so I can swap schematics. Rush?" He called out. But Rush wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was chasing cars and marking his territory on a fire hydrant. Mega Man groaned in disappointment.

"Huh. So he urinates oil," Zero said. "Well, I'm not touching that fire hydrant. So..." He fired the hydrant with his Z Saber, releasing a jet of water. "Mega Man, turn into your Air Man schematics and blow the water on the fire!"

"Good idea, Zero!"

(!)

Later, Mega Man was rescuing a cat from a tree, but it jumped back into the tree when Rush barked at him. "What am I doing wrong?" Mega Man asked as Rush marked his territory on another fire hydrant. "I got him house trained. Why can't I hero train him?"

"Maybe he's not interested in being a hero yet," Zero said. "Have you thought of that?"

Mega Man sighed in disappointment. "Maybe he's not a hero. Maybe he's just a dog."

Unfortunately, Rush heard him. He whined sadly as he watched his owner walk home, head hung low. Zero walked over to the dog and rubbed his head. "Don't worry, Rush. You know he doesn't mean it. He just has to learn you can't rush people into being a hero. No pun intended."

Rush barked at him.

(!)

Later that day, Zero was perched on the rooftop, talking to his mother on the communicator. "Do you think Rush can be a hero?"

"I didn't own any pets before," she said. "In fact, the closest I got were the lab mice. But I do know this: Rush can choose who he wants to be. Does he want to be a pet or a hero? That's up to him."

"I guess."

"Hold on," she said, sounding urgent. "I got a report that Wave Man is flooding the financial district."

"On it."

(!)

When Zero arrived at the flooded scene, he was surprised to find that someone had beat him to the punch. Zero instantly knew who it was. "Rush?!"

"Wait. Don't attack Wave Man yet. I want to watch."

"Yes, mom." He watched as Rush rescued the cat he chased earlier and saved a man from one of Wave Man's attacks. Then the dog bot turned his attention to Wave Man and began firing lasers out his eyes at the Robot Master.

"Really," Zero exclaimed. "Eye beams?!"

Rush chased after Wave Man until Wave Man fired a harpoon at him and flung him into the water. Zero was about to help him until his mother said, "No. Not yet."

"But mom-"

"Wait."

Zero sighed. "Yes, mom."

Suddenly, Rush burst out of the water and rammed Wave Man in the gut, sending him flying into a wall.

"Okay, now you can help."

"Yes, mom." He ran over to Rush and gave him a thumbs up. "You're doing good out there, boy." Rush barked.

(!)

Wave Man fell flat on his face and that's when he saw Rush and Zero advancing toward him. "Zero," he gasped in fear. Then he glared. "I should have known this mongrel was yours. You trained him well to be a hero."

"Uh, he's not mine. I'm just looking out for him."

"Really? In that case, doggie, you don't have to be a hero because he said so. Look!" He pointed to a fire hydrant. "Go ahead. Sniff it. I know you want to! Fire hydrants are irresistible to dogs even robotic ones!"

Rush looked from the fire hydrant to Wave Man. He looked up at Zero with an expression that clearly was asking for help. Zero shook his head. "I can't make your decisions, Rush. Like mom said, do you want to be a dog or a hero?"

For a moment, it looked as though Rush was walking over to the fire hydrant. Wave Man said, "Good boy! That's all you want! You're just a dog! Not a hero!" But then he ate his own words. Rush jumped from the fire hydrant, turned into his drone mode and fired eye lasers at Wave Man, sending him into the air. In this vulnerable state, he was powerless to stop Zero from jumping up and impaling him in the back. "GAUGH! No! Don't...wanna...deactivate..." His body went limp and his eyes dimmed.

Zero tossed Wave Man's body to the ground and smiled when Rush hovered toward him and licked his face. "You did good, boy. Now, help me get rid of all this water. Aki will be proud." Rush yelped in surprise. "Oh, yeah, I know. It's kind of obvious. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Rush raised an eyebrow.

(!)

A few minutes later, Mega Man arrived. "Don't worry citizens, I'm here to save the day!" But to his surprise, the streets were dry and everyone was cheering Zero. He said bitterly, "Of course, _he_ would save the day first." That's when he realized Zero wasn't alone. "Rush?"

Rush ran up to Mega Man and licked his cheeks. "What are you doing with him, boy?"

"You should thank him," Zero said. "Rush did all the fighting. I was there just to finish off Wave Man and help drain the streets of the flood water."

Mega Man was shocked. "Rush, you did this all on your own?" Rush barked happily. "Maybe I should be _your_ sidekick."

"So," Zero asked. "Have you decided whether he should be a dog or a hero?"

Mega Man smiled and rubbed Rush's head. "He can be both, but I'll let him decide."

Zero beamed.


	16. Chapter 16

In his lair, Sergeant Night watched news footage of Zero slaying a mall cop gone rogue. Apparently, the cop felt that robots had replaced him, so he put on a cowboy persona and started dismantling the robot mall cops. Then Zero arrived, battle him and stabbed him with the Z Buster. Zero was praised as a hero to some, but others like Mega Man and Dr. Light criticized it as being too brutal.

"Cheer while you can, Silicon City," the war veteran said. "But one day, Zero will be seen as nothing but a puppet to that war criminal." He clenched his fists. "Ciel. I swear I will find her. And I will finish what I started."

Suddenly, the door to his room burst open and in came Namagem. "I'm tired of waiting! We could have destroyed them by now! I can destroy both Mega Man and Zero now!"

"Reign yourself in, boy," Night said. "I know what you can do. I know you'll succeed where all these others have failed! But the time not right. The world is not ready for you. When the time is right, you will be welcomed as the liberator of robot kind! When the time. Is right." He turned to Fire Man, who was watching. "Fire Man, walk with me. We'll discuss your future later, son."

But Namagem was too impatient. "The future is now, Sergeant Night."

(!)

Zero was on patrol that night. "I tell you, I'm starting to wonder if the press is starting to annoy me, mom. They seem to be there whenever Mega Man and I save someone's butt."

"Welcome to the celebrity life," Ciel said over the communicator.

"I honestly don't know how Mega Man does it." Then he spotted something. "Hey, that's Aki Light and Rush. What are they doing out this late?"

"Follow them. Don't let them see you."

"On it."

(!)

Zero stealthily followed the two, making sure to keep his distance. When he got close enough, he heard Aki talk to himself. "I bet if he knew I was Mega Man," he said. "I saved the city about a hundred times, and was a savior of bots and humans alike, then he'd let me see all the sciencey goodness!"

"Must be talking about Dr. Light's lab," Ciel whispered.

"I bet there's jet packs and moon boots made from actual moons," Aki continued. "And ten dog bots that combine to form a gigantic dolphin bot and-"

"What would you do with a gigantic dolphin bot?" Mega Mini asked. Aki's thoughts halted right there. "Maybe you need to prove you're responsible enough to deal with whatever's in there."

"I'm responsible! I save people!"

"Does Dr. Light know that? Trust works both ways."

From his hiding spot, Zero nodded in silent agreement. Suddenly, something hit him on the head. It landed on the ground next to him. It was a ball of hail the size of a golf ball. Then, more hail began to fall from the sky. "Mom? Is it supposed to hail this time of year?"

"No. Something's not right."

Zero watched as Aki ran to find somewhere to hide so he can turn into Mega Man while Rush turned into his armored mode. Then Zero saw his chance to jump into the fray and help Mega Man destroy the hail stones before they hurt anyone. "Does this happen at Silicon City," he asked.

"No," said Mega Man. "Not at all!"

Suddenly, lightning struck the ground, coming dangerously close to Mega Man and Zero. They dodged another bolt of lightning...then another, and another and another. "Uh, isn't it weird, but is the lightning trying to hit us?!"

"It looks like it is, Zero," Ciel said. "Wait, what's - Incoming!"

Something slammed Zero into Mega Man. Then the figure tossed them through the wall of a warehouse. Both heroes looked up and gasped. Walking in through the hole they made was the robot that saved Lord Obsidian a few nights ago. "I remember you," Mega Man said. "From the attack at the Light House!"

"So, Lord Obsidian is sending his flunkies to do his dirty work," Zero said, pointing his sword at Namagem.

In response, Namagem fired a blast of ice at him, but it was sliced in half by the sword. Then, Namagem blew hurricane winds at him, sending Zero off his feet. Rush flew in to attack, but was shot down by a blast of electricity.

"Air, electricity and ice?" Mega Man said, shocked. "I thought only I can replicate schematics!" He turned into his Air Man mode and blasted a tornado at Namagem, forcing him onto his back and rescuing Rush.

Then Zero got back up and attacked with the sword, but Namagem blocked the attack with his arm gauntlet. "Just...what is your name?" asked Zero. In response, Namagem pushed him away.

"Maybe a cool shower is all you need," Mega Man said. He hopped on top of Rush and flew around Namagem and said, "Quick Switch Wave Man schematics" He turned into Wave Man mode and sprayed the water cannon, but Namagem turned his gauntlet into a flamethrower and countered the water attack. Both Zero and Mega Man were shocked.

"Four powers?" exclaimed Zero.

Namagem turned his arm cannon into Elec Man's plug and fired electricity and both heroes, sending them flying through a wall. "Not good," Mega Man said.

"We gotta retreat," Zero said.

Mega Man nodded, then took off flying on Rush with Zero. Namagem, meanwhile, followed.

(!)

In the park, Namagem fired more blasts of flame at them but Zero blocked them with this sword. "What is this guy's problem?" asked Mega Man.

"Maybe he doesn't like the color blue?" asked Mega Mini. "I'm just throwing it there. I'm scared!"

"I think I'm the only one who can handle this," Zero said. "Go to the Light House! He'll have something to stop this guy!" He hopped off Rush and met with Namagem head on. "I'm your opponent now, little boy!"

"Fine by me!" He punched Zero into a line of trees but the cyborg countered with a smoke bomb to the face. "Where are you?!" He started smashing down trees and burning bushes. "Come out, Zero!"

Zero hid behind a downed tree as he silently aimed his Z Buster at Namagem. He fired his gun at the robot, provoking him. "Now I have you!" Namagem powered up his gauntlet and slammed the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Zero flying. He landed on the ground with a thud. "Bet you haven't seen Guts Man's powers yet. That's why you were unprepared for it!"

"He's right," Ciel said in his communicator. "You don't know what other powers this guy has! You have to run!"

"Not yet. Not until Mega Man comes back, mom! UGH!" A punch from Namagem shut him up and sent him on his back. He tried to get up, but his opponent pressed his right foot onto his chest and pointed the buster cannon at him.

"I win," he said. He charged his cannon at him...then let out a scream of pain as Zero used the Z Saber to slice his buster cannon off. "My arm!"

"Don't make declarations of success when you haven't won yet!" Zero charged at him, but Namagem slammed his remaining arm into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He fell onto his hands and knees and gasped for air. Just when it looked like Namagem was about to win, Mega Man landed between them, holding a glowing sphere in his hands.

"Now!" Mega Man activated the sphere and a shield formed around them. "Yes!"

Namagem lost it. "No, no, no, no, no, noooooo!" He slammed on the force field with his remaining arm, yelling in anger and frustration as he did. Zero slowly got back up on his feet as he watched the angry robot with pity. When Namagem saw his face, he roared, "STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" He slammed the force field again until finally, he gave up and fell to his knees, panting loudly.

Mega Man asked cautiously, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Namagem looked up at them and yelled, "This isn't over yet! I will not be denied my destiny!" He took off running before he flew away on a jetpack. Zero noticed that in his rush to retreat, he left behind his buster cannon.

"We'll get him next time, Chief," Mega Mini said.

Zero picked up Namagem's buster cannon and looked it over. "I think mom will be interested in this."

"Actually," Mega Man said. "We should give that to Dr. Light."

"Mmm...nah." And in an instant, Zero instantaneously teleported out of the park, much to Mega Man's frustration. "What is with that guy?" he asked.

(!)

"What do you think?" Zero asked as he presented the arm to his mother.

"Well, it's certainly similar to Mega Man's technology," she said as she examined it. "This is definitely Dr. Light's work, but it's an older model."

"How did Sergeant Night get his hands on Light-based technology?"

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter how he got it. What matters is what he'll do with it."

(!)

At his base, Sergeant Night was very upset when Namagem returned without his arm. "This is exactly why I told you to wait! Next time, you'll wait or suffer more than a missing arm! I'll have to revise the plan. Now go for repairs immediately!"

As Namagem left the control hub for the med lab, he said to himself. "We won't revise anything. Mega Man and Zero are mine."


	17. Chapter 17

Zero couldn't believe his current mission. Blasto Woman was breaking into the weapons vault of the Good Guild. It was like she was trying to get herself arrested. He burst into the room and found her in the process of stealing the lockers containing the weapons. "Like taking candy from babies," she laughed. The sound of Zero unsheathing his Z Saber made her turn around. "Ah, slag."

"Seriously, robbing a police station? Are you that desperate?"

"Are you kidding me?" Blasto Woman shouted, shooting a pair of twin pistols at him. Zero ducked behind an upturned locker. "I was gonna retire with the amount of money I was gonna make with this stash! I could finally move out of the sewers and get a spacious hanger of my own!" Zero gave her a weird look. "What? A cargo bot can dream, can't she?"

"Yeah, not happening." Zero kicked the locker and sent it flying at her. She blasted the locker into pieces, sending shrapnel everywhere.

"Oh, come on," a familiar voice shouted. "I just perfected my Ninja Man technique!"

Zero facepalmed. "Seriously, Mega Man? You never heard of stealth?"

Blasto Woman punched Mega Man in the gut after finding his hiding spot. Something small flew out of his helmet and fell into an air duct. "Stay down Mega Twerp," she said. "I get paid extra for stomping your - GAUGH!" A green laser sword penetrated her chest then was pulled out. Zero sheathed his Z Saber and Blasto Woman fell onto her face. "My...retirement..." Her eyes dimmed and she went still.

Mega Man was horrified then he got angry. "Why am I not sur-PRISED!" He suddenly spasmed. "You always - Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!" He ran around with his hands in the air and made even more weird noises. "Halifax! Wicky! Wicky! Wicky! Mambo time!" He did a strange version of the Chicken Dance.

Zero was perplexed. "Uh...mom?"

"I honestly have no idea what's wrong," Ciel said via communication. "Bring him to me. But first, knock him out."

"With pleasure." He walked over to Mega Man, who was imitating a duck and gave him a swift punch to the face. Then he used Instant Teleportation and disappeared with the Blue Bomber.

A Good Guild officer came into the room and saw the mess. "Huh. I thought I heard Mega Man and Zero in here. Eh. Must have gone off to do more hero work."

(!)

Aki groaned. His vision was blurry. "What happened?"

"That's what happens when you get punched in the face, Aki," a woman said.

"Where am I?"

"Hold on, let me adjust your optics." His vision became clearer and he realized he was not in the Good Guild anymore. Heck, he wasn't in anywhere familiar. "Where am I?" he asked again, a little more afraid.

"Don't you recognize me?" He heard footsteps, but when he tried to look in the direction of the sound, he found he couldn't move his head. The speaker came into view and he immediately recognized her. "Ciel?"

"Indeed," she said. "I apologize for your current condition, Aki. But you were spasming so much even while unconscious, so I had to...oh, lighten the load."

"What is that supposed to..." His eyes looked down and he screamed in horror. "MY BODY! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BODY?!"

"We separated your head from it," she said. "You were completely out of control."

"Well that doesn't mean you can..." Aki stopped when he realized, "Wait. Did you call me...Aki?"

"Yep. Your identity is pretty obvious without the helmet. But then again, we already knew you were Mega Man." Aki was afraid. No, he was terrified. Ciel and Zero knew who he was the whole time?! "But that's beside the point," she continued. "There's something more important to discuss. Your maintenance bot, the one you call Mega Mini, he's not in that noggin of yours," she tapped his cranium with her left hand's knuckles.

"Not there? How can that be?"

"That fight with Blasto Woman caused him to fly out of your head. In his state, he is very vulnerable. Do not worry, I sent my son to find him."

Aki got mad. "You leave him alone!"

"It's not just your Mega Mini you should worry about," Ciel said, walking over to a tool tray, but he couldn't see what she was doing. "You took serious damage against Blasto Woman and without Mini, the damage is spreading and fast. It explains why you were acting so weird earlier. Now..." She returned to his field of vision with, to his horror, a buzz saw. "I'm going to repair your systems while my son finds your maintenance bot. But that requires removing your scalp so I can get into your inner workings." The saw whirred as she activated it.

"No, no, no, no, no, wait! Wait! AUUUUGGGHHHH! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!"

(!)

At the Light House, Suna's Ipad's alarm instantly went off. "Huh?" She looked at it and her eyes widened. "Mega Man's vitals, they're going off the chart! Something bad must be happening." Rush barked, then whimpered nervously. "Ugh," she said. "I can't get a trace on his signal! Something must be blocking it." She looked out the window. "What's happening to you, Aki?"

"Suna?" Dr. Light called out. "Have you seen Aki anywhere?"

"I...I don't know." She said it to herself and very softly.

(!)

"Hmm," Zero hummed. "I followed Mega Mini's signal down this sewer. But I can't find him. I think something bad happened to him." Ciel warned him that the sewers were the location of the robot black market. All sorts of illegal tech found their way in there and you just had to know where to find them. He eventually found a store that was at the end of the tunnel. The shelves were filled with all sorts of illegal goods ranging from stolen weapons, armor and upgrades, parts of machinery that Zero was sure were not made in the United States and vehicles he was sure wasn't released to the public yet. He dinged the little bell on the desk and a little, sleazy robot slowly rose up from behind the desk. "Yeeesss?" he questioned in a creepy tone.

"I'm looking for a maintenance bot," Zero said firmly.

"Oh, I got plenty of those." The shopkeeper reached down and pulled out a box. Inside were a dozen small robots, all of them unconscious thanks to being in stasis. "Take your pick."

Zero rummaged through the bots, but none of them were Mega Mini. He tossed the box aside and held up a picture of his target. "Now look, this is the bot I want. Did you sell him to somebody?"

"Sorry, I don't show records of my customers - ooh!" Zero pointed the Z Saber at him. "Right this way." He showed Zero the back of the store. "This is where I keep tapes of everyone so I can blackmail them later." Zero made an angry noise. The shopkeeper glared at him. "Hey, I'm a black market shopkeeper. Who do I care what you think? This is the weirdo who bought your bot." He showed the red cyborg footage of a small figure in a black hood exchanging money with the shopkeeper and taking Mega Mini off the shelf.

Zero grabbed the shopkeeper and lifted him up. "Who was it? I'm not in a good mood today."

"I dunno! She never gave her name!"

"'She?'"

"Uh...uh...oh, darn it! Fine! It was some girl with green hair and wore red framed glasses!"

Zero dropped the shopkeeper. "Thank you." He left the underground store and ringed his mother. "Mom, I need you to locate the house of a student named Ashley Adderley. She bought Mega Mini at the black market."

"Hold on," he heard Ciel say. "I'm sending you the location."

"Good. How's Aki?"

"I managed to subside the damage, but until Mini is brought back, it will get worse."

"Don't worry. I'm on it."

(!)

Ashley snored lightly as she slept. An unconscious Mega Mini was sitting on the bedside table, still stuck in stasis. A shadow crossed the girl's bed. Zero silently cut the glass to her window and slinked inside. His eyed the unconscious maintenance bot and reached for it. He let out a gasp when a hand grabbed him. "What are you doing in my bedroom, Zero?"

He cursed himself. Ashley was awake.

"What are you doing in the black market, Ashley?" Zero asked, not taking his eyes off Mini. "Don't you know what they do to little children all alone? This isn't the era of free range children anymore."

"I can take care of myself. And for your information, that creepy old robot put up advertisements for Mega Mini all over the internet. He knew it belonged to Mega Man and was willing to accept any money from the guy who bought Mini first. Luckily, I had enough money and got to get to him first."

"And, uh, what do you plan to do with him?"

"What else? I'm gonna give him to Mega Man the next time I see him."

Zero made a face that said, "That's not good". "Oh, that might not be possible. I've got him back at my house."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "And where would that be?"

Zero felt a strange buzz in his brain and said in a monotone voice, "I'm sorry, Ashley. I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"I understand you have to keep secrets," Ashley said. "But why does it have to be you who brings back the little guy to Mega Man?"

"Mom said so. What she says goes. Trust me, you don't want to know what she's like when she's angry."

Ashley sat up in her bed. "Sounds like your mother is a control freak." She took her hand off of Zero. "What is your deal anyway? You claim to fight for co-existence between humans and robots, yet you obey your mother even if she orders you to do things like break into a middle school student's bedroom?"

Zero made an annoyed sound. "Why shouldn't I? Isn't it natural for children to obey their parents without question?"

Ashley punched Zero away. "Only natural? So, it's only natural for children to be obedient drones? To become a puppet until they become thirteen-years-old?"

"Zero," Ciel said over the communicator. "What are you doing? Mega Man's getting worse. Get Mini and bring him back!"

"Understood." He hung up and turned to Ashley. "Sorry." With a swift punch, he knocked her old cold. She landed onto the bed and began snoring. "Finally," he said. He grabbed Mini and ran out the window.

(!)

Ciel paced back and forth. "Where is he?"

"Ciel," Mega Man said. "I'm not getting any questions answered so I want you to answer. Who are the humanoids?"

Ciel faced him. "That's none of your business. You just have to let history stayed buried."

"Whatever happened to 'If you don't learn history, you are doomed to repeat it'?"

"There are some exceptions."

Exceptions, Mega Man thought. That seems to be Ciel and Zero's favorite word. Suddenly, Zero appeared in a flash of light. "Got him."

"Excellent," she said. "Once we put him back in his head, the repairs will be instantaneous."

"That's good, I..." Zero gasped when he saw what state his rival was in. "Mom? What did you do to his head?"

"It was the only way to get his spasming body to cooperate."

"Well, could you, I don't know, put it back?"

"After you put the maintenance bot in."

Zero sighed. "Very well." The red cyborg pulled the little bot out of his pocket and handed it to Ciel. "Perfect," she said. She placed the little robot in Mega Man's head, then carried the head over to the body. Zero remained silent. "Something wrong?" she asked him.

"Mom, do you think..."

"That I'm a control freak?" Zero gasped. "Oh, yeah. I heard everything that girl said to you. We'll discuss this later. Right now, get Mega Man out of here after I make the last repairs."

"Understood."

Ciel reached into Mega Man's skull and all he saw next was blackness.

(!)

Mega Man and Mega Mini had no idea how they got back to the Light House. Nor did they have any answer for a frantic Suna's questions.

(!)

"Now," Ciel said after her son returned from delivering Mega Man. "Let me ask again. Do you think I'm a control freak?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Answer honestly."

Zero hesitated. "Uh...well, maybe you can be sometimes..."

Ciel sighed. "Son. I know. I can be rough, but I do it to make sure you're safe and to make sure you don't lollygag on your missions. Mega Man was in danger of being destroyed and you wasted a majority of your time talking to that girl." She put a hand on her son's shoulder. "What we do is a matter of life and death. There can be no mistakes. Understand?"

"...Yes, mom."

"Good. Now, return to the chamber. I will call you when your next mission is up."


	18. Chapter 18

It had been three days since Mega Mini accidentally got ejected from Mega Man's head, resulting in Ciel having to repair the Blue Bomber until Zero could find the little maintenance bot. Since then, even though Mega Man and Mega Mini had no idea how they got to Ciel's hideout (thanks to a little mind erasing), they were on their guard now. Especially with the revelation that Ciel and Zero knew who Mega Man really was. Thankfully for Zero, Mega Man's new hotline kept him so busy, it kept his mind off of it.

At twenty-four/seven, Mega Man would get calls expecting hero work only to do "unheroic" tasks such as helping a cat stuck in a tree, repairing an old satellite dish, fixing a broken car and making house calls. And Zero could see that it was very boring for the young Blue Bomber.

"Anything new happening, mom?" Zero asked via communicator.

"No, nothing so far," Ciel said. "To be honest, it's been strangely quiet."

"Well, that's one good thing I can...what's that?" A purple ball with a smiling face was flying toward him. "Is that a drone?"

"Zero!" Ciel shouted. She sounded frantic. "Close your eyes! Don't look in its eyes! That's one of Hypno Woman's glitter emojis!"

"Uhh...what?" Zero said, confused, yet he still complied and shut his eyes tight. "Who's Hypno Woman?"

"That's right! We didn't face her yet! But you did face her powers. Remember? It was back when Mega Man hypnotized you and I was forced to use the failsafe on you."

(!)

*8-bit flash back of Mega Man using Hypno Woman's schematics to make Zero leave the city only for Ciel to blow him up*

(!)

"Thanks for making me recall that," Zero said sarcastically.

"Anyway," Ciel continued. "Hypno Woman was the school's therapist, but then she got impatient with the students' troubles so she hypnotized them all with a mind-erasing app."

"Talk about extreme therapy."

"Hello, Zero, I'm sorry we haven't met face to face yet," the grinning emoji said. "But now we have the perfect opportunity! I'm inviting you to the power plant to let you see a vision you and I both share. I've already invited Mega Man. Don't be late." And with that, the sphere vanished.

Zero opened his eyes and looked around. "You do know it's a trap, right, mom?"

"Of course, but I don't think we have a choice."

(!)

True to word, when Zero arrived at the power plant, he found Mega Man there. "I see Hypno Woman has taken a great interest in you now," the Blue Bomber said.

"I know. And I never even met her." Zero took a look at Mega Man's face. "Are those bags under your eyes? I didn't think robots could get them."

"Yeah, well, you'll get them too if you had to deal with a twenty-four/seven hotline and do chores!"

Just as Zero suspected, he was so busy with the hotline, he forgot that Ciel and Zero knew he was really Aki Light. "So," Zero said. "Hypno Woman said that she wanted to show a vision she and I share. What do you think she meant?"

"I dunno. Oh, and Zero, PLEASE do not kill her. She and Dr. Light have a...history."

Zero made a disgusted face. "Oh, my goodness! He's dating her?!"

"Shut up! It was a one time thing," he mumbled.

"Okay, let's just get on with this so I can erase the images out of my head."

(!)

Inside the factory, Mega Man and Zero found workers, both humans and robots alike, doing their jobs like they normally do. But as they looked at the workers, they noticed something odd. "No one works _this_ efficiently," Mega Man said.

"And their movements," Zero said, pointing to a group of workers handling the machinery. "They move like wind-up toys." Zero approached one of the workers and turned her around. To his shock, the worker's eyes were purple and yellow spirals. The same thing could be said for all the others as well. "She hypnotized them!"

"Observant as always, Zero!" an unfamiliar, yet smooth and suave female voice said. Zero and Mega Man looked up. Looking down on them from a catwalk was a female robot with purple and white armor, moth-like wings with a ripple pattern and wild red hair.

"How did someone with _your_ appearance become a school therapist?!" exclaimed Zero.

"What did you do to these people," demanded Mega Man, pointing his buster cannon at her.

Hypno Woman wagged her finger. "Ah, ah, ah! Get rough with me and I'll give every one of these working Joes a mind wipe!" Hesitantly, Mega Man lowered his weapon.

"Why did you brainwash these people, Hypno Woman," Zero asked, a hand on the unsheathed Z Saber.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Brainwash! What you call brainwashing, I call enlightenment! Look at them," she gestured to the workers. "They used to be so distracted, inefficient, random, hazardous. Now when the people look past themselves, the whole system benefits! Everything in service for the greater good!"

"How is _this_ a vision we both share?!"

"Think about it: no more discrimination between robots and humans, no more need for you to go around killing robots and humans who go rogue! It will be the perfect civilization!"

"Here it comes," Mega Man deadpanned.

Hypno Woman finished her speech as she raised her arms in the air. "Which is why I'm gonna give Silicon City the hard reset it needs! Say goodbye to free will and all the petty distractions that comes with it!"

"So this plan is a rehash of what you did to the school," Zero pointed out. "I read your report."

"No, it's not! Well, technically. But bigger! Now that I control the city's power grid, nobody can stop me! Not the citizens! Not the Good Guild!"

"Except me," Zero said, rushing toward her with his Z Buster at the ready. But Hypno Woman just chuckled. "Foolish little boy. You actually think I'm gonna let you stop me?" Her eyes turned into purple and yellow spirals. Mega Man gulped. He knew that if Zero were under her control, there would be no stopping her. But to his surprise, Zero continued to rush at her and fire his Z Buster at her. Hypno Woman jumped off the banister and hovered gently down onto the ground. Zero jumped off and landed in front of her.

"I'm not falling for that mind trick anymore," he shouted, pointing his Z Saber at her. "I learned how to avoid them after Mega Man accidentally hypnotized me."

"Oh, is that so?" Zero didn't like the way she said that. "Well tell me, what about the little voice in your head? Did she learn?"

"What?" He pressed his communicator. "Mom, what is she talking about?" No response. "Mom? Mom, are you there?"

(!)

At the hidden base, Ciel was slumped in her chair with a dopey grin on her face and spiraling purple and yellow eyes. "Mom!" Zero called out on the communicator. "MOM!"

(!)

Zero was panicking. "Mom?" He felt a presence loom over him. Hypno Woman sneered at him. "Mommy can't help you now." She grabbed Zero by the throat and lifted him up into the air. "Now...sleep...sleep like your mother..." Zero closed his eyes right away. "Look me in the eye when I'm speaking to you!" She reared her free hand back and readied to slap him only to be blasted in the face by a laser. She let go of Zero and he took off running behind a generator.

"Oh, this isn't good," he said. "Thanks for the help, by the way, Mega Man."

"No problem."

Hypno Woman laughed as she flew above them. "Isn't this sweet? And do you know what's the best part? The whole moral conundrum about the whole situation!"

"You're a moral conundrum!" shouted Mega Man. "What's a moral conundrum?"

"A sadistic choice," Zero responded. "Do we fight her and risk her melting these workers' brains or let her live and let her melt the whole city's brains?"

"Exactly," Mega Mini said.

Suddenly, there was a loud beeping sound. The heroes turned to see one of the reactor's meters going in the red. "Are you mad?!" shouted Zero. "You're gonna cause a meltdown!"

"Meltdown? Impossible! They are under my control!"

"That's the problem! You can only see the the bigger picture, you don't even notice the little details like that signature in the corner."

"I don't need to be schooled by a killer!"

"He is right, whatever his morals are," Mega Man said. "You have to let these people go!"

Having heard enough, Hypno Woman fired her hypno spheres at the heroes, only to be stopped by a flash of red. Rush stood in front of the balls and watched as they circled him. "Rush! Hang on boy!" Mega Man jumped onto the catwalk. "Don't look at them, Rush!"

"Hold on, chief," Mega Mini called out. "I think he's got this."

"Rush?"

Even Zero looked uncertain. Until Zero ate on one of the balls like a treat. "No! Impossible," gasped Hypno Woman.

"Ha!" laughed Mega Mini. "Too bad your hocus pocus doesn't work on canines! Good thing she didn't bring a tennis ball."

Before Hypno Woman could attack again, Rush tackled her and licked her face, ignoring her protests. By the time she pushed the dog off, her control was broken and all the workers could see what was going on. Quickly, they got to work trying to stabilize the reactor before it exploded. Hypno Woman glared at them. "So much for enlightenment. Time for - AUGH!" She let out a scream as one of her wings was cut off by Zero's Z Saber. She fell to the ground and landed on her face. She looked up to see the red cyborg pointing his sword at him. She growled at him, "Your brutality and Mega Man's sentimentality never cease to exhaust me!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a flash bomb. Disorientated by the light, Mega Man, Zero and Rush stumbled around blindly. By the time the flash was gone, so was Hypno Woman. But her voice echoed around the reactor, "Someday you'll listen! All of you! You won't have any other choice!"

"Not likely," Zero said.

The heroes were soon greeted by the cheers of the workers. Suddenly, Zero's communicator rang.

"Hello, Mom?"

"Oh, thank goodness!" She sounded scared. "I blacked out after Hypno Woman attacked you! Her spheres must have hacked their way into my communicator!"

"It's okay," Zero said. "She got away though. But..." He picked up the wing he cut off Hypno Woman. "I might bring back a souvenir."

(!)

Back at the hidden base, Zero presented Ciel with the wing and reported what Hypno Woman said to him.

"The perfect society, she said?" Ciel spat on the ground. "You know why I love being a scientist? It's because we know that perfection can never be reached. We always strive to reach for something that in the end is something we can never obtain. In fact, it's kind of fun trying to compete against fellow scientists over who makes the better invention."

Zero nodded. "And she was trying to force people to see her perspective. It's no different than spoon feeding propaganda."

"Which is why," Ciel said as she opened a weapons vault. "This is one method of peace that can never be allowed." She slammed the door close. "Not when I have our own plans. Plans that don't involve force."


	19. Chapter 19

_Mysteries are like crossword puzzles in the Sunday paper. They don't seem to solve themselves. But everyone seems to be a liar and a cheater in this crummy town. Worse than my family reunion. Can't trust nobody, I tell ya._

"Mom?"

Ciel looked up from the television sitting on the desk. "Hmm? Yes, dear?"

"Uh, I'm ready for the new upgrades."

"Oh. Right. Come, sit on the table."

Zero sat on the operating table and Ciel began to get to work on him. "Say, what were you watching?" he asked.

"Oh, just some crime noir movie. To be honest, his life kind of sucks. Can you imagine being all alone, no one to trust but yourself? I mean, seriously, man. Get a girlfriend or at least a friend!"

Zero looked down. "If I can find one," he said to himself.

* * *

The next day, Zero was doing his morning exercises, free running across the rooftops. "See any trouble yet?" Ciel asked in his communicator.

"No, not...wait." There was a loud explosion. A house had caught fire. "Should I?"

"No. This is a job for the Good Guild."

Still, Zero decided to stay and watch. That's when he noticed something was off. It looked like the Good Guild wasn't helping things. No. It looked like they were making things worse! Instead of putting out the fires, they were dousing the building with gasoline, making the fires bigger. And instead of helping the people along, they were kicking them aside.

"I think this counts as trouble." Zero jumped off the roof and landed in front of the Good Guild. "Has your minds been melted or something?!"

"Zero!" one of the Good Guild exclaimed. "Destroy on sight!" The other members of the Good Guild turned their flame throwers at him and began blasting fire balls at him. Zero sliced a fire hydrant in half and sprayed them all in a torrent of water. Then he aimed the water at the fires and doused them all off.

"Hey!" Mega Man jumped out of nowhere and landed next to him. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Did you not notice that?" Zero asked. "The Good Guild was not exactly living up to their name!"

"It wasn't their fault! Did you see their eyes?"

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Their eyes?"

"They had purple and yellow swirls in them! This is Hypno Woman's doing!"

Zero gulped. Hypno Woman was perhaps the most dangerous of the rogue robots. The proof in the pudding was when she used her powers to put his mother in a trance.

Mega Man put a thumb on his own chin. "Still, it doesn't make any sense. Hypno Woman is extreme, but she doesn't normally harm people." He suddenly got excited. "Finally, a real mystery!"

Zero almost jumped when he heard the slow jazz music. "Who's playing that saxophone?"

Mega Man said to the little robot in his head, "Mini, are you playing that music?"

"Your powers of deduction are top notch," Mega Mini said.

* * *

Zero contacted his mother. "Did you get all of that?"

"Yep," said Ciel. "But I haven't heard any news from her. Not since she started dating Dr. Light."

Zero's eyes widened. "She is? When did this happen?"

"A few weeks after the debacle with the power plant. I know. Weird."

Zero looked down from his perch and saw Mega Man again. "Hold on. I see Blue Bomber. And it looks like he's...monologuing?" The cyborg jumped down from the building and used his hover boots to silently land to the ground. He followed Mega Man to an old warehouse. When Mega Man took one step inside the building, the door slammed shut. "Of course it's a trap," muttered Zero.

The cyborg blasted a hole in the wall and found Mega Man fighting off purple emoji spheres. "Looks like Mega Man was right," Zero said as he took cover. "And is he...monologuing again?"

Indeed, Mega Man seemed to be talking like a character from Casa Blanca. "Tripping a ton of technical traps told me two things. One, I was right about Hypno Woman. She's in on the scam to corrupt the Guild. Two, she had Dr. Light tricked like a rabbit at a magic show. In Silicone City, trust no one!"

Zero came out of hiding and blasted the emoji balls. "Zero," the Blue Bomber exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for Hypno Woman. Same as you." He looked up. "And it looks like we don't have to look far."

Mega Man followed Zero's eyes and saw Hypno Woman slowly hovering down toward the two of them. He was about to attack when she suddenly grabbed him in a hug. "Oh, Mega Man! I'm so glad you came!"

"Uh...the villain is hugging me," he said to Mini. "What do I do when the bad guy is a hugger?"

"Hug back?" Mini suggested.

Zero had a different plan. He took out his sword and pointed it at her neck. "Drop the boy." Hypno Woman obeyed and carefully set Mega Man down. "Now. I think we need to ask some questions. Like why you hypnotized those Good Guild members."

"We?" Mega Man asked, offended. "This is _my_ case!"

Hypno Woman held her arms up. "Zero, I'm innocent! Dr. Light sent me to deal with some troublesome robot. But he's like nothing I ever encountered! So angry! I used my powers against him but it didn't work. Worse, he replicated them!"

"What?!" Mega Man and Zero exclaimed. The latter lowered his sword.

"He doesn't fully understand my powers. But if he finds me...we can't let that happen! Mega Man, if you see Dr. Light, tell him I'm sorry. He trusted me and I failed him."

"I know the feeling," grumbled Mega Man.

Suddenly, Mega Mini shouted, "Interrupting your moment of insight. The Guild is attacking the Light House!"

* * *

Mega Man and Zero arrived at the Light House just as a whole army of brainwashed Good Guild members slowly began to march towards the Light House. "Hypnotized or not," growled Mega Man. "No one threatens my family!"

Suddenly, another robot landed between the two. It was Namagem. "I think we found your culprit," said Zero. "He's the only other robot with replication powers!"

"Why the Guild?" demanded Mega Man.

"Teammates," said Namagem with a smirk. "To tear open the safest place in Silicone City for it's greatest prize!"

"The Mega Key!" Mega Man realized. He narrowed his eyes at the other replicator robot. "Who are you?"

Namagem pointed his Buster Cannon at him. "Figure it out, genius." Before he could get the chance to fire, he saw Zero coming towards him with the Z Saber. "Zero. I'm prepared this time!" He pulled out a sword of his own and blocked Zero's attack with it.

"Where did you get that?!" Zero asked, taken aback by the new tool.

"My father's been training me for an encounter with you, cyborg!"

While the two opponents clashed, Mega Man tried to assess the situation. "I can't take him and stop the Guild without help! Replication activation!" He pointed the Buster Cannon at Namagem, but something was wrong. The data he tried to replicate felt...corrupted somehow.

"Don't like these readings, Big M," warned Mega Mini. "Something ain't right. Disengage! DISENGAGE!"

Mega Man stopped the replication process just in time before the data could fully corrupt his systems. But not before he got hit by the recoil in the process.

Meanwhile, Zero and Namagem were still struggling against each other when the latter got an incoming call on his communicator. "Forget him! Get the Mega Key!"

Namagem shook his head and tried to push Zero back. "I can win this!"

"Get the key and we can reprogram Mega Man to our revenge!"

"But...Zero!"

"DO IT!"

Letting out a growl, Namagem kicked Zero in the gut, sending him to the ground.

Inside the Light House, Suna activated the force field just as the brainwashed Good Guild was mere feet away from breaking in. "The shield won't hold forever," said Suna.

"Rush, go find Mega Man!" ordered Dr. Light.

The robot dog barked and flew off to Mega Man's unconscious form. He licked his cheek and the Blue Bomber awoke. "Rush? Oh, no!"

* * *

With a blast from his Buster Cannon, Namagem destroyed the shield. He chuckled as he stalked towards the Lights. "The Mega Key. NOW!"

"OY!" Namagem turned and blocked Zero's sword with his own. "We're not finished!"

"That goes for me, too!" Mega Man flew down on Rush and kicked Namagem in the face before jumping off. "Activate Hypno Woman schematics." He activated Hypno Woman's powers and fired blue emoji balls at the Good Guild. "Good Guild, think for yourselves!" Namagem suddenly got back up and fired at the Blue Bomber.

He jumped onto Rush's back and took flight while Namagem clashed with Zero again. "Don't you know when to give up, cyborg?!"

"Never!" Zero shouted.

* * *

Mega Mini read the current schematics. "Boss, we're sitting ducks with the schematics we got on board!"

"Trust me, Mini!"

When Namagem saw Mega Man, he reached behind his back and tossed a boomerang at Rush. Zero was distracted for a brief second, giving his opponent the opportunity to punch him in the face and sending him flying into a tree. Then Namagem walked over to Mega Man and pointed the Buster Cannon at him. "So pathetic. Why does everyone think you're such a hero?" Before he could take the shot, the Good Guild, free from the brainwashing, attacked him.

"Rush, I need more time to charge," whispered Mega Man. Rush nodded and flew over to Namagem, firing everything he had at the evil robot. "Watch my stats, Mini. We're going to need everything we got!"

"You got it, boss! 75 percent. Keep going, kid!"

Namagem blocked the robot dog's attacks, only to let out a scream of pain as he felt something slash his back. He turned around and dodged Zero's sword just in time. "Stop getting in my way!"

"You got the green light, kid!" shouted Mega Mini.

Mega Man pointed his Buster Cannon at Namagem. "Zero! Get out of the way!"

Zero looked over his shoulder and saw the cannon about to fire. He jumped over Namagem's shoulders and pushed him into the cannon's aim. Mega Man fired, sending Namagem flying over the trees.

* * *

Namagem groaned as he struggled to get back up. "What a disappointment."

Namagem ignored his father's commentary. "I can handle this!"

"Return to the mountain base. NOW!"

He let out a growl of frustration and punched a tree.

* * *

Mega Man collapsed to his knees. "Big win against the big bad," he groaned. "Go team."

"Mega Man!" Zero ran up to him and held out his hand. Mega Man took it and Zero helped him up. "You okay?"

"Why are you helping me? I thought we're still rivals."

"Just because we have different ways of dealing with our enemies doesn't mean we have the same goal. I want to keep the Mega Key safe just as much as you do."

Mega Man sighed. "I don't know if I can trust you entirely. But maybe..."

"Mega Man!" The two heard Dr. Light and Suna call out. Before Mega Man could say anything else, Zero dropped a flash bang and disappeared.

* * *

"You didn't use your upgrades," Ciel said when Zero returned home.

"I didn't really need it at the time," he said as he took off his armor.

"A little test or two wouldn't kill you."

"Your just going to have trust me on how I make my decisions." He set his helmet down on a chair and sat down on the couch. "By the way, how did that movie go? Detective Fedora, was it?"

"Oh, it was fine. He learned to trust others in the end. But he didn't trust his dog as he always stole his food." Ciel snorted. "This is why I don't have pets."


	20. Chapter 20

Zero was in an usual spot to practice his sword and gun skills: the junkyard. It was a rather simple track to run through. All he had to do was simply run the course while shooting or stabbing and slicing the red targets while leaving the blue targets alone. "So, mom," he said as he jumped over a blue target and sliced a red target in half. "I never really got the chance to use that upgrade last time. Care to tell me what it is?"

"Replication," Ciel said as she watched her son through a drone. "Congratulations, you now have the ability to copy your enemies' abilities like Mega Man."

"Replication?" Zero slid across the ground and shot three targets in a row. "How did you manage that?"

"I copied the schematics from Mega Man's head back when he was acting wonky when his maintenance robot was accidentally ejected from his head."

"Nice. But won't I go crazy with mood swings like Mega Man does every time he uses them?"

"That's why I added a time limit. Your powers will deactivate after five minutes."

"So, how does this work?"

"Get close to a robot, any robot, and say 'Replication Activation' and the schematic will be downloaded."

Zero destroyed the last target and hummed, "Hmm. Any robot, huh?"

"Did you have someone in mind?" Ciel inquired.

"Mega Man perhaps?"

"Sorry, you can't download schematics already being used by other replicators. It has to come from the original source of the schematics."

"So," Zero said as he rubbed his hands together. "If I want Hypno Woman's schematics for example, I have to get them from Hypno Woman herself."

"Yes."

"Picky."

"Just find a robot and test it out."

Zero was about to respond when he suddenly felt the wind pick up. Then it got even worse as the trash heaps began to topple over and Ciel's drone got carried away. Zero had to run out of the junkyard before he got crushed. "Whoa! Hey, Mom? Did the weatherman say anything about strong winds today?"

"No," said Ciel on his communicator. "And I didn't get that drone insured!"

Zero looked across the way to see Silicone City being bombarded by tornados.

* * *

In the city, Mega Man was using his Ice Man powers to freeze the debris being picked up and tossed around by the winds in place. "Mega Man!" He looked and saw Zero jump next to him. "I take it these aren't natural," he said, though he obviously knew the answer.

"Nope," said Mega Man. "Heavy winds, things falling from the sky, that can only mean one thing..."

"All eyes on me, Silicone City!" The two heroes looked up to see a large yellow robot shaped like a fan flying across the sky. "You need to see how amazing Air Man is all the time! So anything taller than these buildings..." He used his powers to rip the roofs off the tallest skyscrapers. "...has to come down! I am an inspiration to all!"

"Wait, wait. Did he actually just say that," Mega Mini asked.

Air Man laughed cockily as he lowered down to the ground. "Air Man," Mega Man exclaimed. "I absorbed your powers last time..."

"And became an arrogant jerk in the process," piped up Zero.

Mega Man frowned at that. "Yeah... Still, I use them a lot better than he does! Activate-"

"Wait!" Mini called out. "He does have a point! You were kind of a...jerk."

"That's why I need you to keep an eye on me. Activate Air Man schematics!"

"Oh, boy..."

Mega Man's armor turned from blue to yellow and his Buster Cannon turned into Air Man's fan. Before he could get the chance to use it, Air Man caught him in a tornado. He laughed arrogantly, but his arrogance became shock when he heard someone say, "Replication activation!" Both Mega Man and Air Man turned to see Zero downloading Air Man's schematics.

"No way!" they both exclaimed. "He can do THAT now?!"

"But that's my schtick!" complained Mega Man. Almost immediately, Air Man's schematics took full effect on his personality. "Copy cat! Get your own ideas!" He forgot he who he was fighting and blasted a jet of winds at Zero. Zero's eyes widened and fired a torrent of hot air at Mega Man's, canceling each other's attacks out.

"Hey! Did you forget that Air Man's the bad guy?!"

Mega Man growled at him. "Give me back my gimmick and I can get back to MY hero stuff! I'M the hero! ME! I'm the best!"

"I am the best, Mega Muffin," Air Man shouted. "ME! ME, ME, ME -" A blast of hot air from Zero's Z Buster sent him flying over the roof tops.

"Just admit it," Mega Man shouted, a tornado starting to form around him. "You were always jealous of me! I was here first!"

Zero realized what was happening. "Mega Man, it's Air Man's schematics! It's making you act arrogant again!"

"Shut up! Don't tell me things I already know!" The Blue Bomber charged at Zero, using the air powers to give him a boost. Zero caught him by the arm and tossed him through three buildings and into the pond of the park where Suna and Ashley were taking cover.

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked as she helped him out of the water.

Mega Man dried himself off and tried to keep calm. "Oh, just...you know, fighting Air Man."

"Air Man is seriously dangerous!"

Once again, Mega Man felt himself becoming arrogant and competitive. "But I have the same air powers! I'm smarter, cooler and more Mega!" Suna shook her head. Oh, not again. "What I need is the power of flight!"

"Here we go again," groaned Mega Mini.

* * *

Mega Man was still ranting about how superior he felt he was while he rode on Rush's back. "He called me Mega Muffin! Can you believe that, Rush?" He flew so fast, he didn't even care that he knocked a kid's ice cream out of his hands. Thankfully, a robot shared his own ice cream to cheer the kid up.

"He's the muffin," the Blue Bomber continued to rant. "And I'm going to send him home to the Good Guild for sophomore update!" Rush barked at him, concerned. "Don't tell me to calm down! I'm Silicone City's number one! Not him! And not you either! And especially not Zero! He's a...a...a zero! Yeah!"

"Is that any way to talk to your best friend?" Mega Mini asked. "What did I tell you? Your ego's gone supernova!"

Air Man was still blowing down everything taller than him. "One less obstruction for the greatest robot ever! ME! Air Man!"

"No way am I ever letting him destroy anymore of Silicone City," Mega Man growled as he found his opponent. "Quick Switch: Air Man schematics!"

Poor Mini buried his face in his hand and shook his head. "I give up."

"Rush, follow my lead!" Mega Man turned on the fan blade allowing himself and Rush to propel themselves forward. Air Man heard them and turned around only to get slammed in the gut. Mega Man pretended to make a phone call. "Hello, Good Guild? I'm going to need a villain cleanup on Terrabite Avenue."

"Don't you mean little blue hero cleanup?" Air Man took up into the sky and blasted hurricane winds at the Blue Bomber and his dog. The duo flew away, but Air Man gave chase, laughing in a cocky manner.

"Faster Rush! We need to go faster!" Rush obeyed his friend's command, but Air Man fired another blast of air at Mega Man, knocking him off the dog and onto the ground.

Air Man landed and gloated, "Nice jump, Mega Man! You've showed off my robot superiority! Again! Ha, ha, ha! Now seriously, keep your blue can out of my way! I've gotta spread Air Man's to all of Silicone City!" He laughed again as he flew away.

Rush hovered over to his friend with an apologetic look, but Mega Man was having none of it. "I told you to go faster! This defeat is on you!" Shocked and hurt, the robot dog just up and left him. "Wait, Rush! You're my..." Mega Man sighed sadly as he instantly came to regret what he just said. "...fido."

* * *

"That's right!" Air Man shouted and laughed. "Flee! Flee and run from the power that is Air Ma-" A blast of hurricane winds sent him falling down to the ground.

"You think you're so tough, big man?" Air Man looked up to see Zero smirking down at him from the top of a building. "Because from where I'm standing, you're looking pretty small to me!" He said those last three words in a high-pitched squeaky voice.

Air Man let out a bellowing roar as he flew up into the sky. "LITTLE?! LITTLE?! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S LITTLE!" He generated an F5 tornado from his fan and laughed like a mad man as it started to grow even larger.

Zero was scared at that moment. "I think I pushed him too far."

* * *

At the school, Aki folded his arms grumpily as the teacher announced, "With Air Man terrorizing our skies, today's field trip is cancelled."

While the other students groaned in disappointment, Aki growled at the memory of Air Man's words. "I'm not done with you yet, wind bag," he whispered.

* * *

It got worse at gym class. Aki and Bert were playing basketball with the other students. Aki was open, but Bert decided to take the shot...and missed. Aki glared at his friend. "Why didn't you pass it to me? I'm the greatest player! I would have made that shot!"

Bert lowered his head in disappointment. "Sorry, Aki."

"I'm the only one who does anything right around here!"

At that point, Suna came up to him. "Aki, what are you doing?"

"I'm the best basketball player! People would rather see me score points than to see us lose!" He took note of how he made Bert sad and calmed down. "Ever since I activated the Air Man schematics, I'm out of control!"

"I might have mentioned that once or twice, BUT NO ONE WANTS TO LISTEN TO MINI!" The maintenance robot made an exasperated snort. "It's like I'm talking to myself in here."

"You need to stop accessing Air Man's schematics," suggested Suna. Her phone suddenly beeped. "Hello? Zero? How did you get this number?" She pinched her nose. "Okay. Just, what is going on? WHAT?! Air Man's going to destroy the Light House?!" She suddenly heard footsteps leaving. SHe looked up; her brother was gone. "Aki?"

* * *

"Quick switch Air Man schematics!" said Mega Man as he ran down the halls.

Mega Mini groaned. "Didn't you hear a single thing your sister just said? Or what I said? Or YOURSELF for crying out loud?!"

The Blue Bomber stopped. "Yeah. You're right. How about we bring back the old classic? Mega Mini and the Blue Streak!" He turned off Air Man's schematics and ran outside.

"Now you're talking!"

Mega Man was about to leave the school grounds when he met a familiar face. "Rush? What are you doing here?"

"I called him," Suna said as she walked over to him. "We need you, but every time you access Air Man's schematics, you just make things worse. Remember, Silicone City already has a hero and he's totally Mega!"

Mega Man was still a little unsure. "And what about Zero?"

"A hero in his own right. His own, unorthodox and slightly sociopathic right."

Rush walked up to his friend and nuzzled his face. "I know," Mega Man said as he patted his head. "I messed up bad and I blamed you for my mistakes. I'm so, so sorry." Rush barked happily. "Right. Let's take down Air Man together!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Zero let out a scream and slammed into the wall of the Light House. "Okay, now I'm gonna..." He suddenly felt himself grow weak. He collapsed to his knees. "What the heck was that?! What happened to Air Man's schematics? They're turned off!"

"I told you," Ciel said in the communicator. "Only five minutes!"

"It's been five minutes already?!" Zero gulped as the huge tornado was coming closer and closer. "Fine time for me to run out of juice now!"

Before the tornado could wreck the house, Air Man got punched out of the tornado by a blue blur, and the tornado became nothing more than a breeze. Mega Man, riding on Rush's back, got up in Air Man's face. "Hey, what's your problem?!"

Air Man growled. "The Light House has to come down! It's blocking my spotlight!" He fired a blast of hot air at Mega Man, who dodged it and said, "Yeah, I can't let you do that."

"And everyone knows you can't beat Air Man! AUGH!" The hot-headed robot let out a scream and looked behind him. Zero was hovering up in the air, wielding his sword.

"You forget, he's not alone!"

"Why you... OUCH!" Mega Man blasted him in the face with the Buster Cannon. "You! Stop interrupting me! You've already failed to beat me twice today!"

"Is that all, Air Man?" the Blue Bomber taunted. He jumped off Rush, landed on the roof and proceeded to fire again. "I thought you were the greatest of all robots!" Air Man fired again, but Mega Man countered and hit him in the chest. He then jumped onto Rush's back and said, "Okay, boy, time for your plan!"

Air Man landed down on the ground where he got shot by Zero. "Stop doing that!" He let out another blast of air, but Zero managed to dodge it and fired his gun again, this time in the face. "Ow!" Now steaming mad, Air Man blasted him with another tornado and sent him flying through a window.

Mega Man landed and put on an act. "Boy, his tornados spread wider the higher he throws them! Making them almost impossible to avoid! What are we going to do, Rush?"

Zero chuckled. "That's it, keep playing with his ego, kid."

"Rush! If he goes any higher, we'll never escape those tornados!"

"You're milking it now!"

But Air Man was too dumb and too arrogant to see through the deception. "Oh, really? Game's over, Mega Man!" He flew up into the sky and made another F5 tornado. Mega Man hopped on Rush and flew to a safe distance. He let out a yell so the fan man could hear him, "Hey, Rush! Imagine how powerful Air Man could be if he could create a...SPACE TORNADO!"

"Space tornado?" Mega Mini asked, also playing along. "Oh, the humanity!"

Zero's face faulted. "'Space tornado'? Seriously?"

To his disbelief, Air Man actually fell for it. "Space tornados? Ha, ha, ha! Of course! Space tornados!" He flew up, up, up into the sky until he was nothing more than a barely visible little dot. Zero blinked. "So..." he said as he got up. "How long do you think it will take for him to realize that there's no air in space?"

"When he's floating around in the Earth's orbit," Mega Man said with a smirk. "Well, on the bright side, he can't get much higher than that."

* * *

Aki sighed in relief as he enjoyed his break in the park with Suna and Ashley. "Oh, Suna, I feel like a new bot since I switched off Air Man's crazy schematics. Thanks for taking care of me, sis."

"Always got your back, brother."

Ashley returned from playing with her drone. "It's been so quiet since Air Man's attack last week. What do you think happened to him?"

"I think a better question is," said Aki. "How did Zero get Replication powers like me...I mean, like Mega Man?"

Suna frowned and folded her arms. "I don't know. We better keep a close eye on him next time Mega Man encounters him."

Aki nodded. Ashley looked on in wonder. "Zero. What is it with that guy?"

* * *

Zero returned from the battle and took off his armor. He sat down on a couch and turned on the TV to watch some Detective Fedora. Ciel sat down next to him. "So," she said. "How do you like the upgrade?"

"The timing on that limiter could do better," Zero said.

"I told you, the limiter is in place to keep you from suffering weird mood swings. As soon as I figure out the cause of those mood swings, I'll remove them and you won't have to worry about that."

"Good." Zero grabbed a bowl of popcorn and placed it between the two so they can share. "By the way, what are we going to do with Air Man?"

Ciel waved it off. "Don't worry, I'll get him down eventually. Besides, he actually seems pretty happy with his current situation."

* * *

"You muffins can have Silicone City," Air Man shouted as he floated in the vacuum. "The whole planet's got their eyes on me up here! I'm the greatest of all robots! Air Man!"


End file.
